A delegation of representatives of the Ministry of the Economy and Innovation and business discussed cooperation projects, visited science and research centres and explored new business niches with local authorities, academia and business in Taiwan this week.

“Lithuania has reasonable expectations to cooperate with Taiwan in high-tech areas, in ecosystems of semiconductors, laser technologies, information communications, biotechnology, and start-ups in particular. Yet this is not a finite list of topics discussed by our delegation – we also talked about small business development, manufacturing industry and other areas. I hope that from now on the coordination and implementation of the discussed projects will be easier and faster, as Lithuania already has a trade representative in Taipei,” said Karolis Žemaitis, Deputy Minister of the Economy and Innovation.

In August, Paulius Lukauskas was appointed the Head of Trade Representative Office of the Republic of Lithuania in Taipei. The Trade Representative Office will start working in the near future.

K. Žemaitis discussed specific cooperation opportunities and prospects with the leadership of the Ministry of Economic Affairs of Taiwan, in meetings with representatives of Taiwan’s big business, microchip, semiconductor manufacturing, and other areas. He also participated in the Lithuania-Taiwan Business Day events, an industry forum, and visited biomedical incubation and advanced healthcare innovation centres.

„We would like to develop not only trade relations with Taiwan, but also to jointly develop technologies and products in the fields of life sciences and biotechnology, which we could then jointly commercialise and sell on global markets,” notes Tomas Andrejauskas, President of the Lithuanian Biotechnology Association.

The Lithuanian delegation visited Semicon Taiwan, an exhibition of semiconductor and microelectronics technologies, and the Innovation Agency signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA).

Taiwan has been included in Lithuania’s priority markets for innovation cooperation and exports, as well as in the priority markets for foreign direct investment.

In the first half of this year, exports of goods and services of Lithuanian origin to Taiwan grew by one third and have already reached EUR 11.5 million. In January-June of 2022 alone, the turnover of goods between the two countries amounted to EUR 90.6 million, an increase of 92.6% compared to the same period in 2021.