Texas Governor Rick Perry arrived in Taiwan Sunday for a three-day visit at the invitation of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA). Perry is expected to promote business cooperation between Texas and Taiwan, seek to establish more air links between the two sides, and encourage local businessmen to invest in his state, according to the ministry. It is Perry's first trip to Taiwan since he assumed the office of Texas governor on Dec. 21, 2000. The MOFA said it invited him to visit Taiwan on his way back to the U.S. from China, and that he is scheduled to pay courtesy calls on President Ma Ying-jeou and attend parties hosted by Minister of Foreign Affairs Timothy Chin-tien Yang and Minister of Economic Affairs Shih Yen-shiang. Taiwan maintains close economic ties with Texas, importing US$2.51 billion-worth of goods from the U.S. state in 2009, making the country Texas's 12th largest export market that year. Taiwan has invested more than US$5 billion in Texas in the fields of petrochemicals. electronics, telecommunications, aeronautics, biotechnology and banking industry. Politically, Texas is known to be friendly toward Taiwan, as its Senate and House of Representatives have resolved in recent years to support Taiwan's bid for access to the World Health Organization, and have called for a free trade agreement between the U.S. and Taiwan, the MOFA said. Texas is the second largest U.S. state, by both area and population, and has the most vibrant economy in the country, It is home to 64 of the companies that made the 2009 Fortune 500 list. 