Taiwan trade mission briefing

Governor Lou Leon Guerrero promises major investments are coming to Guam following her return to the island from a weeklong whirlwind tour in Taiwan. The trip focused on restoring air travel connections and building new economic partnerships.

Guam is looking to Taiwan as a potential partner in tourism, business, and economic development, as the governor addressed local media Friday after returning from a weeklong whirlwind trade and investment trip to Taiwan.

"When we arrived, we went directly to one of our biggest mission, which is to provide better, greater and more air connectivity from Taiwan to Guam. The purpose of that is of course to increase and enhance tourism and investments to Guam," she said.

The governor led a delegation that included representatives from the Guam Visitors Bureau, the Guam Economic Development Authority, and the A.B. Won Pat International Airport.

GVB president and CEO Regine Biscoe Lee said, "We flew over on direct service on United Airlines. That service is twice weekly. They're looking at expanding that to more than times a week. So we're really grateful for all our airline partners, possibly looking at charter flights to Guam to promote that additional air connectivity."

During the trip, officials met with leaders from China Airlines and Starlux Airlines. The governor says both airlines expressed interest in starting with charter flights as a first step toward more regular air service.

Governor Leon Guerrero added, "For both airlines, I came away from those meetings, they were very, very sincere and authentic in making sure in wanting to fly more to Guam. As you know, our Taiwan market is one of the fastest growing market in our GVB population."

The trip also focused on strengthening long-term partnerships. The governor signed a sister city agreement with Kaohsiung, Taiwan, aimed at expanding cooperation in areas like health, education and agriculture. 

"The general counsel or the director general of Taiwan here, is also looking to see if we can do a sister city for the new Taipei city. If we do that, we would have five cities in Taiwan that are sister cities," she added.

Doyan Morato, a board member with the airport, said, "They were so hospitable and so eager to work with the governor and our island. And with our history, the Austronesian lineage that we share, there’s so much that we can learn from each other and partner up with."

The delegation also toured Kaohsiung’s Transportation Intelligence Center, which uses artificial intelligence to manage traffic and public transportation. Connections were made for Guam’s Department of Public Works to learn from the system. "Very impressive and actually very real because we hardly experienced any traffic during our travels in Kaohshiung. And we traveled during the peak hours," said Leon Guerrero.

In the meantime, the governor says the trip also generated interest from Taiwanese companies in sectors including pharmaceuticals, chip manufacturing, and other high-tech industries.