A new agreement between Taiwan and Slovakia would serve as a “starting point” for bilateral semiconductor cooperation, Visiting Slovak Deputy Minister of Economy Peter Svec told a news conference in Taipei yesterday.
Svec was referring to a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the Industrial Technology Research Institute in Taiwan and the Slovak Academy of Sciences, along with the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava on Tuesday.
Under the agreement, both sides would embark on research-and-development projects in the area of semiconductors, Svec said, adding that he cannot provide further details at the moment.
He said the agreement was “important,” as Slovakia seeks to develop its semiconductor industry.
Slovakia hopes to cooperate with Taiwan not only in the field of semiconductors, but also in other areas, such as electric vehicles, he added.
“We see a lot of space [for collaboration],” he said, adding that both sides could work together on projects, such as developing battery-charging stations or e-mobility services.
The agreement on semiconductor cooperation is one of eight MOUs that Svec’s delegation signed with Taiwanese government agencies and institutes.
The delegation comprising 26 senior Slovak officials and business representatives arrived in Taiwan on Sunday, mainly for talks on bilateral economic cooperation at the Taiwanese-Slovak Commission on Economic Cooperation.
Apart from cooperating in trade, economics, and science and technology, Slovakia is also looking forward to working with Taiwan to provide aid to war-torn Ukraine, Svec said.
“We should not wait for the end of the war... We should act and prepare ourselves now,” he said, adding that both sides could provide assistance in rebuilding housing and infrastructure in Ukraine.
Taiwan could also provide humanitarian assistance to Ukrainians who have fled to Slovakia to seek refuge, said Manuel Korcek, head of the Department of Global Economic Policies.
Semiconductor business between Taiwan and the US is a “win-win” model for both sides given the high level of complementarity, the government said yesterday responding to tariff threats from US President Donald Trump. Home to the world’s largest contract chipmaker, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC, 台積電), Taiwan is a key link in the global technology supply chain for companies such as Apple Inc and Nvidia Corp. Trump said on Monday he plans to impose tariffs on imported chips, pharmaceuticals and steel in an effort to get the producers to make them in the US. “Taiwan and the US semiconductor and other technology industries
SMALL AND EFFICIENT: The Chinese AI app’s initial success has spurred worries in the US that its tech giants’ massive AI spending needs re-evaluation, a market strategist said Chinese artificial intelligence (AI) start-up DeepSeek’s (深度求索) eponymous AI assistant rocketed to the top of Apple Inc’s iPhone download charts, stirring doubts in Silicon Valley about the strength of the US’ technological dominance. The app’s underlying AI model is widely seen as competitive with OpenAI and Meta Platforms Inc’s latest. Its claim that it cost much less to train and develop triggered share moves across Asia’s supply chain. Chinese tech firms linked to DeepSeek, such as Iflytek Co (科大訊飛), surged yesterday, while chipmaking tool makers like Advantest Corp slumped on the potential threat to demand for Nvidia Corp’s AI accelerators. US stock
The US Federal Reserve is expected to announce a pause in rate cuts on Wednesday, as policymakers look to continue tackling inflation under close and vocal scrutiny from US President Donald Trump. The Fed cut its key lending rate by a full percentage point in the final four months of last year and indicated it would move more cautiously going forward amid an uptick in inflation away from its long-term target of 2 percent. “I think they will do nothing, and I think they should do nothing,” Federal Reserve Bank of St Louis former president Jim Bullard said. “I think the
SUBSIDIES: The nominee for commerce secretary indicated the Trump administration wants to put its stamp on the plan, but not unravel it entirely US President Donald Trump’s pick to lead the agency in charge of a US$52 billion semiconductor subsidy program declined to give it unqualified support, raising questions about the disbursement of funds to companies like Intel Corp and Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (台積電). “I can’t say that I can honor something I haven’t read,” Howard Lutnick, Trump’s nominee for commerce secretary, said of the binding CHIPS and Science Act awards in a confirmation hearing on Wednesday. “To the extent monies have been disbursed, I would commit to rigorously enforcing documents that have been signed by those companies to make sure we get
RSS