The Lithuanian delegation led by Karolis Žemaitis, Vice-Minister of the Economy and Innovation, is strengthening cooperation in the laser and industrial fields in Taiwan.

The Lithuanian Laser Association has signed an agreement with the Industrial Technology Research Institute of Taiwan (ITRI) to establish a joint laser technology research and innovation centre in Taiwan. The laser centre is tentatively scheduled to open in autumn this year.

„Our mutual economic relations with Taiwan are steadily developing and 2023 should be a breakthrough year. We aim to accelerate bilateral cooperation between technology companies, to make better use of Lithuania’s potential in information and communication and financial technologies, and to encourage more Taiwanese technology companies to set up and invest in Lithuania,” said Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation K. Žemaitis.

Gediminas Račiukaitis, President of the Lithuanian Laser Association, believes that this is a way for Lithuanian laser companies to enter the chain of development and deployment of equipment for the semiconductor and electronics industries.

„Together with ITRI and in contact with large integrators, we will combine our competences and knowledge to solve current and future problems of the end-users of the technology,” says G. Račiukaitis.

The Lithuanian Confederation of Industrialists has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Confederation of National Industry and Commerce (CNAIC), and will sign a MoU with the Confederation of National Industries (CNFI) on Friday.

The agreements foresee sharing information with their members on the business interests of Taiwanese and Lithuanian companies, suggesting potential partners, organising exchange visits for business cooperation, and assisting in trade or investment projects in their own or third countries. It is also planned to exchange relevant information to create a favourable environment for trade and investment between Lithuania and Taiwan.

During his visit to Taiwan, Deputy Minister K.Žemaitis discussed with  Chern-Chyi Chen, Vice-Minister for Economic Affairs of Taiwan, and  Ning Yehu, Vice-Minister for Digitisation of Taiwan, joint projects that would diversify supply chains, enhance cyber security and business competitiveness, and enable Lithuania to become a gateway for Taiwanese technologies to the European Union market.

„Technological cooperation, creation of common supply chains, search for synergies between businesses creating high added value – these are the directions that our business should think about when cooperating with Taiwan,” says K. Žemaitis.

The development of mutual economic relations is facilitated by the fact that the Trade Representative of the Republic of Lithuania started working in Taipei in September 2022, and the Lithuanian Trade Representative Office in Taipei was officially opened on 7 November 2022.

Lithuania’s trade with Taiwan grew by more than 50% in 2022 to over EUR 167 million.