Taiwan, Czech Republic to deepen industrial and tech cooperation

台灣與捷克將深化產業與技術合作

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Economic Minister Kung Ming-hsin (龔明鑫) said that Taiwan will deepen collaboration in the industry and technology with the Czech Republic as exchanges between the two nations continue to grow.

Kung made the remarks while leading a delegation to the Czech Republic from Sunday to Tuesday. During the visit, the delegation toured the Taiwan Trade and Investment Service Center in Prague and met with members of the Czech Parliament and representatives of Czech companies, per CNA.

Kung said this was his fourth time leading a delegation to visit the country, and these visits have helped promote economic and trade relations between the two nations. The Czech Republic is Taiwan’s largest trading partner in Eastern Europe, with bilateral trade reaching NT$73.9 billion (US$2.37 billion) last year, an increase of nearly 95% compared with 2023.

As of October, Taiwanese investment in the Czech Republic has been primarily focused on the ICT sector, with total investment reaching NT$6.89 billion, ranking eighth among Taiwan’s investments in EU countries.

Since 2021, Taiwan and the Czech Republic have launched direct flights. In addition, 11 Czech universities have established cooperation with Taiwanese institutions, and 85 Czech students have received scholarships to study in Taiwan.

Kung noted that Foxconn, Wistron, and Inventec, which produce AI servers, have investments in the Czech Republic. Taiwan and the Czech Republic also have a cooperative program for semiconductor talent development.

This cooperation also supports TSMC’s wafer fab in Germany’s Dresden, which is scheduled to begin operation in 2027 and will primarily produce 12- to 28-nanometer chips for European automotive customers. Kung hopes the project will help boost the development of the semiconductor sector in the Czech Republic.

Kung called for combining Taiwan’s ICT strengths with the Czech Republic’s capabilities in automotive engineering and metrology to deepen collaboration in EV, laser, electron microscope, and drone supply chains. Since last year, the Czech Republic has become Taiwan’s third-largest export market for UAVs, behind Poland and Germany.