Prague, Dec. 12 (CNA) The first Taiwan Semiconductor Research and Experiment Center, an important component of the Taiwan-Slovakia Strategic Industry Development Plan, was inaugurated on Friday in Slovakia.
Launched in 2023, the plan is jointly implemented by Taiwan's Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI), the Slovak University of Technology in Bratislava (STUBA), and the Slovak Academy of Sciences (SAS).
The project, now entering its third phase, aims to help Slovakia establish two semiconductor research and experiment centers, cultivate industry talent, and strengthen the country's semiconductor sector.
Attending the inauguration ceremony were Slovak Economy Ministry State Secretary Vladimír Šimoňák, Taiwan's representative to Slovakia David Lee (李南陽), STUBA President Maximilián Strémy, and Member of the Presidium of SAS Marek Radvanský, according to a statement issued by the Taipei Representative Office in Bratislava.
Šimoňák thanked Taiwan for its support of Slovakia's semiconductor development, saying the project would significantly boost the country's semiconductor industry and lay a solid foundation for future economic growth.
The Slovak Republic, with its robust automotive industry, could secure a foothold in the Central and Eastern European semiconductor ecosystem through cooperation with Taiwan, Šimoňák said.
Lee said that although Slovakia accounts for only 2 percent of the European Union's population, it could comprise 5-10 percent of the Central and Eastern European semiconductor supply chain, particularly in the field of power semiconductor module design, assembly and testing.
Lee noted that Slovakia has already established a comprehensive power semiconductor solution platform, which will play a key role in integrating the country into the regional semiconductor supply chain and further strengthening ties between Taiwan and Slovakia.
Jackie Tseng from the ITRI's Electronic and Optoelectronic System Research Laboratories oversaw the construction of the Semiconductor Research and Experiment Center as part of the Taiwan-Slovakia technology cooperation.
She said that the collaboration has progressed smoothly, and that ITRI will continue to support Slovakia's semiconductor development and talent cultivation.
As the semiconductor industry's infrastructure continues to mature, she said she hopes to expand cooperation between Taiwan and Slovakia into additional fields.
