Taipei, April 8 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen and Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo exchanged messages of encouragement on Twitter on Tuesday and Wednesday, amid the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak, and pledged to work closely together to defeat the pandemic.

Abe on Tuesday declared a state of emergency to allow his country to better fight new coronavirus infections in major population centers, and he unveiled a stimulus package to soften the economic blow.

Shortly after the announcement, Tsai tweeted in Japanese that both countries have worked together before during major natural disasters such as earthquakes and typhoons, and said she is confident that together they can also win the battle against COVID-19.

On behalf on Taiwan, Tsai offered to donate surgical masks and medical supplies to Japan and to provide technical assistance in the fight against the pandemic.

In response, Abe retweeted Tsai's post on Wednesday and thanked Taiwan for its warm support and offer of help.

"We can jointly overcome the challenge faced due to the coronavirus and get through this together," he tweeted in Chinese.