Taipei, Oct. 22 (CNA) An annual trade dialogue between Taiwan and the United Kingdom on Thursday focused on improving bilateral trade and investment ties and granting easier access to each other's markets for medical care, financial services and other industries, according to the British Office Taipei.

Greg Hands, U.K. Minister of State for Trade Policy, said the two sides held constructive discussions during a virtual dialogue on removing barriers to market entry, and made progress on the issue of U.K. lamb imports to Taiwan, the office said in a statement.

"2 1/2 hours of trade talks completed with Taiwan just now...Great to get stuck into removing remaining barriers to U.K. firms in health, offshore wind, banking, FinTech, whisky, beef & lamb," Hands said in a Twitter post following the dialogue.

Meanwhile, Taiwan's Vice Economics Minister Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺), who also participated in the dialogue, said Taiwan hopes to strengthen its cooperation with the U.K in the fields of rapid medical screening tests, offshore wind energy and semiconductors, according to the British office.

During his two-day "virtual trip" to Taiwan, Hands witnessed the signing of a Taiwan-U.K. agreement to advance cooperation in English learning and education.

He also hosted the opening ceremony of the U.K.-Taiwan International Showcase for Compound Semiconductor Technology conference on Wednesday, and exchanged views with representatives from nine U.K. enterprises, as well as 200 potential investors.