Taiwan has been a “true friend” to Slovakia by donating funds and resources that have helped the country cope with Ukrainian refugees fleeing from war, Slovak Representative to Taiwan Bruno Hromy said in an interview.
Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last year has sent millions of refugees fleeing to neighboring countries, including 500,000 who sought safety in Slovakia over a shared 98km border, Hromy said.
“Of course, not all of them stayed. Many of them moved further west, but those who have stayed need to receive support, financial, healthcare and social support, and all this presents enormous, enormous difficulties,” he said.
Photo: CNA
While he is “very proud” of the Slovak people’s sharing of whatever resources they had to support the needs of the refugees, Hromy also gave credit to the help provided by Taiwanese.
“Taiwanese came to help, sending humanitarian aid, sending money,” easing the burden on Slovakia, Hromy said.
“We say in Slovakia: ‘You know the bird by its plumage, you know the person by his deeds.’ True friends will usually help you out in times of hardship, and Taiwan has behaved like a true friend,” he said.
By the first anniversary of the invasion on Feb. 24, Taiwan had donated, through Slovakia and Poland, 27 tonnes of medical equipment, 700 tonnes of humanitarian aid, and more than US$41 million to a relief fund, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said.
Taiwan and Slovakia had been building strong ties even before the war, with Slovak delegations visiting Taiwan over the preceding years.
Those contacts culminated in a landmark visit by a 43-member delegation led by then-Slovak second state secretary of the Ministry of the Economy Karol Galek in December 2021, despite COVID-19 restrictions still being implemented.
The delegation was in Taiwan to attend the first session of the Taiwanese-Slovak Commission on Economic Cooperation, and during its stay the two sides signed a pact on deepening relations, along with nine other agreements to boost cooperation.
Among the fields covered by the agreements were education, research and development, trade, science parks, space, tourism, smart cities and scientific research.
The fruitful session led to the meeting becoming an annual event, with the second session held in the Slovak capital of Bratislava in December last year, and a third in Taipei to be held in June.
Hromy said the 2021 pact and other agreements have begun to deliver results, citing a special program established by Slovakia’s government to further cooperation on semiconductors.
Meanwhile, Slovak companies have benefited from Taiwania Capital, he said, including Sensoneo, a “smart” waste management solutions provider, and Photoneo, a company that makes 3D cameras and software for use in robots.
Taiwania Capital is a fund established by the government and private sector to create global corporate partnerships through investments, with a focus on technology from Silicon Valley and central and eastern Europe.
The number of scholarships Taiwan has offered to Slovak students specializing in semiconductors, among other fields, has tripled, Hromy said.
The crisis in Ukraine offers an opportunity for ongoing cooperation, suggesting that Slovakia and Taiwan could develop projects in border areas to rebuild the war-torn country, including through their private sectors, he said.
Hromy said he hopes for more cargo and passenger flights between Taiwan and the region to encourage Taiwanese investors and tourists to consider Slovakia as a starting point for operation expansion or European travel.
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