Taiwan and the US on Tuesday signed a scientific and technological cooperation agreement, the first concrete result of their Economic Prosperity Partnership (EPP) Dialogue last month, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said yesterday.
The agreement was signed by Representative to the US Hsiao Bi-khim (蕭美琴) and American Institute in Taiwan (AIT) Managing Director Ingrid Larson in Washington, Wu told a news conference in Taipei.
Wu said that he was joined in Taipei by AIT Director Brent Christensen, Minister of Science and Technology Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) and Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chen Chern-chyi (陳正祺) in witnessing the ceremony virtually.
Photo: Photo: Tu Chien-jung, Taipei Times
In Washington, US Undersecretary of State for Economic Growth, Energy and the Environment Keith Krach, Assistant Secretary of State for East Asian and Pacific Affairs David Stilwell, Bureau of Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affairs Acting Assistant Secretary Jonathan Moore, and Science and Technology Adviser to the Secretary of State Chiang Mung (蔣濛) virtually witnessed the ceremony, he said.
That the agreement was signed soon after the dialogue on Nov. 20 reflects the solid trust and cooperation that exist between Taiwan and the US, Joseph Wu said.
“This agreement provides a much needed legal structure for further collaboration to advance scientific research, unleash technological innovation, and ensure research integrity and intellectual property protection,” Christensen said in Mandarin.
Christensen said that he understands how important this agreement is to bilateral relations, as he served as an officer on the environment, science, technology and health affairs at the US embassies in Pretoria and Beijing.
Taiwan and the US are complementary in semiconductor-related areas, as Taiwan’s strengths are semiconductor fabrication, as well as IC design and packaging, while the US’ strength is research and development of advanced chip design, Wu Tsung-tsong said.
Taiwanese researchers are also globally competitive in developing next-generation semiconductor materials and two-dimensional materials, he said.
Later yesterday, the agreement was released in Chinese and English.
Consisting of 10 articles, the agreement covers bilateral cooperation in basic and applied research, innovation, engineering, social science, public health, higher education and scientific human resources capacity.
The agreement says that the nations might decide later to add other scientific and technological areas.
The nations can invite third parties and international experts to join activities held under the agreement, it says.
The agreement enters into force on the date of signature and will be in effect for 10 years, and it is to be automatically extended for another 10 years unless the two parties call for its termination, it says.
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