CORNISH Members of Parliament Scott Mann and Steve Double along with representatives from Cornwall Trade and Investment and Geoff Brown from Cornwall Council (Transport) welcomed the Taiwanese representative and his team to the Duchy for a two-day visit to Cornwall, including a trip to Tintagel.

The Taiwanese delegation arrived direct to Newquay Airport from Heathrow and visited local businesses in Padstow including Roly’s Fudge Pantry before dining at The Basement restaurant.

In the afternoon the party moved on to a tour of Tintagel Castle, to view the construction of the new bridge connecting the island with the mainland.

The work had special significance as the team carrying out the construction is owned by a Taiwanese holding company.

During the day Mr Mann, Conservative MP for North Cornwall, held talks with the representative to discuss how Taiwanese and Cornish businesses could work together post Brexit and the market for Cornish exports from the fisheries, agriculture and drink sector.

In the evening the delegation met with the leader of Cornwall Council, Julian German, and learned about Cornwall’s ambitious plans to tackle climate change and improve connectivity over dinner at St Kew Inn.

Mr Mann said: “I was delighted to invite the Taiwanese representative and his team to visit North Cornwall and explore my constituency. Taiwan is one of the most vibrant democracies in Asia and could be a lucrative market for Cornish goods after we have left the European Union. Taiwan is also one of the best-connected countries in the world and I was very interested to hear how their technologically led solutions for health care and social care could be applied to our communities.”

Representative David Lin said: “This has been a great experience visiting Cornwall and I’m glad we’ve identified many sectors with potential for future bilateral cooperation.”