The Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA) on Saturday expressed its condolences to the family of Hugues Mignot, a naturalized Taiwanese citizen who was once the director of the Belgium Office in Taipei before serving as the first director of the Luxembourg Trade and Investment Office in Taiwan.

According to MOFA, Mignot passed away in Taipei on April 28 at the age of 80.

MOFA said Deputy Foreign Minister Harry Tseng (???) had reached out to Mignot’s Taiwanese widow to express their condolences and to let his family know that Mignot’s contributions to foreign affairs were respected and highly regarded.

MOFA explained that as a result of his background coming from a family of diplomats and his own fluency in Mandarin, Mignot served as Belgium’s top representative to Taiwan between 1986 and 2006.

During his tenure, MOFA said Mignot built solid friendships in Taiwan and was involved in developing Taiwan’s relationships with Belgium and Europe.

In 1987, Mignot was the first to propose the establishment of a European Chamber of Commerce in Taiwan.

In 2002, he started pushing for the establishment of a European Economic and Trade Office in Taipei, which then opened in March 2003.

Mignot’s efforts also led to the signing of the Taiwan-Belgium Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement in October 2004.

MOFA noted that 2006 was an eventful year for Mignot as he retired, got married to his Taiwanese wife, and was conferred with the Order of Brilliant Star with Grand Cordon by then President Chen Shui-bian (???).

In 2009, when Luxembourg decided to open its first trade and investment office in Taiwan, Mignot came out of retirement after being appointed to head the office, which he did until 2016.

After stepping down from the position, Mignot later became a naturalized Taiwanese citizen in December 2019.

Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel