Slovakia and Taiwan Sign Memorandums of Cooperation

Bratislava, October 22 (TASR) - Representatives of Slovakia and Taiwan signed a total of seven memorandums on cooperation on Friday, Economy Ministry State Secretary Karol Galek told a news conference on the same day. The two countries will exchange experience in the field of industrial innovations, research and development, investments, the green economy, smart cities and alternative mobility. Galek stressed that the talks between Slovak and Taiwanese officials won't end with this and that the first meeting of the commission on bilateral economic cooperation will be held in Taipei in December. Galek noted that Taiwan is the second largest Asian investor in Slovakia. It has already invested over €0.5 billion in Slovakia so far, thanks to which more than 3,000 new jobs have been created in Slovakia. The representatives of Taiwan praised Slovakia's hospitality and expressed their willingness to return the favour to a Slovak delegation in "a Taiwanese way" in December. Taiwan's Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chern-Chyi Chen stated that Slovakia and Taiwan are both small countries with open economies in which talented and hardworking people live and liberal economic policy rules. The Taiwanese officials said that they view Slovakia as the "secret garden of Europe full of treasures". David Nan-Yang Lee, a representative of the Taipei office in Bratislava, said that cooperation between Slovakia and Taiwan has been expanding to other sectors and that a robust relationship has been created between the two countries. He also praised communication with Slovak Government officials and expressed gratitude for the 160,000 vaccines against coronavirus that Taiwan has obtained from Slovakia. ko/df