HSP and Slovakia Sign MoU to Bolster Cooperation

Taiwan has been proactive to strengthen ties with Central and Eastern European countries in recent years. In October 2021, the Hsinchu Science Park Bureau (HSPB) was part of a government delegation to Slovakia, the Czech Republic, and Lithuania. While it is aggressively promoting the semiconductor industry, Slovakia understandably seeks to work more closely with the Hsinchu Science Park, a world-famous hub on this front. With Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong as witness, HSPB Director-General Wayne Wang and Filip Pastorek, director of the University of Zilina’s Research Center, signed a memorandum of understanding on October 22 as the first step toward bilateral cooperation.

At the invitation of officials with Slovakia’s Ministry of Economy, a video conference was held on November 8 for the two sides to share experiences in developing science parks and the technology industry. On the occasion, Slovakia expressed great interest in Taiwan’s development of science parks—establishment conditions, infrastructure, management, and introduction of tenant companies—and promotion of startups. By learning more about such workings in Taiwan, the country wishes to better foster its own industrial innovation and economic development.

The latest video conference proved fruitful and drew to a successful close. Both parties expressed hope that more such virtual exchanges would follow and agreed to further promote bilateral cooperation through physical visits and information sharing going forward.