Taiwan will engage in cooperation and exchanges with the Baltic states in the areas of quantum technology and biotechnology, the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST) said in a statement on Tuesday.
This is the conclusion made during discussions between MOST officials and a visiting group of lawmakers from the Baltic states at the ministry earlier in the day and is expected to lead to future bilateral academic and research exchanges, according to MOST.
It said that a number of different topics were discussed during the delegation's visit, including technology development, biomedicine, semiconductors, and technology parks.
The two sides then concluded that the plans for future cooperation between Taiwan and the Baltic states -- Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia -- will focus on academic and research exchanges in the quantum technology and biotech areas.
This direction was chosen after considering the Baltic states' position as members of the European Union, with varying levels of technological development and expertise, and Taiwan's current policy on science and technology research, MOST said.
The ministry added the delegation, which includes the parliamentary representatives Matas Maldeikis of Lithuania, Janis Vucans of Latvia, and Juri Jaanson of Estonia, showed positive interest in supporting bilateral cooperation and exchanges in the field of technology.
Maldeikis, Vucans, and Jaanson will all take part in a conference on democracy to be held later this week in Taipei.
In related news, an exchange between the Taiwan Laser Technology Application Association (TLTAA) and Lithuania's Laser and Engineering Technologies cluster (LITEK), Lithuanian Laser Association (LLA), and Laser micromachining cluster (TOOLAS) was held online on Monday.
In its statement released Monday, the Taipei-based Chinese National Federation of Industries (CNFI) said Lithuania's laser technology was more advanced than the rest of the world's, noting that products from the country account for 50 percent of the global laser market.
The federation also said that Lithuania's expertise lay in its ability to manufacture intricate parts of laser products as a front-end developer, while Taiwan's lay in incorporating various parts into a laser product as a back-end developer.
However, Taiwan only accounted for 1.6 percent of Lithuania's laser product front-end exports, CNFI said.
If cooperation between the two nations increased, industry players in both countries could create a mutually beneficial relationship by utilizing expertise in different areas, it added.
Source: Focus Taiwan News Channel