Taipei, Aug. 9 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen and former Japanese Prime Minister Yoshiro Mori, who led a delegation to pay tribute to late Taiwanese President Lee Teng-hui Sunday, sought to reinforce ties between the two countries during a meeting at the Presidential Office that day.

During the 30-minute meeting, Tsai thanked the 16-member delegation for coming to Taiwan to pay their respects to Lee, who passed away on July 30 at the age of 97, at a time when international travel is difficult due to COVID-19.

She also praised the efforts by Lee and Japanese politicians like Mori, Japan's prime minister from 2000-2001, to promote Taiwan-Japan relations in recent years.

Bilateral visits and friendship between the two countries have increased, Tsai said.

It is hoped that in the future, both sides will continue to cooperate in fields such as COVID-19 control, sharing information on the pandemic and related drug development, Tsai said.

In return, Mori said Lee, who had a profound knowledge of Japan's history and society, was respected by many Japanese.

Mori said he felt that the visit was very meaningful as the delegation got to bid farewell to Lee, adding that he also brought with him a message from Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe for Lee's family.

Mori said he hopes to see even better Taiwan-Japan relations in the future.

The delegation later headed to the Taipei Guest House, where a memorial for Lee has been set up, before their departure at around 6:50 p.m. on a charter flight back to Tokyo.