The 14th Taiwan-Israel Economic and Technological Cooperation Conference was convened in virtual format on June 15, with the two sides exchanging views on a range of issues, including cooperation on water resources, startups, renewable energy, ICT and 5G, environmental protection, anti-competitive practices, and smart city development. The conference was co-chaired by Taiwan Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chern-Chyi "C.C." Chen and Ohad Cohen, Trade Commissioner and Director of the Israeli Ministry of Economy's Foreign Trade Administration.

In his opening remarks, Deputy Minister Chen said that countries around the world are now focusing on how to build a complete and resilient supply chain system due to the restructuring of global supply chains resulting from U.S.-China trade frictions, the COVID-19 pandemic, climate change, and the Russia-Ukraine conflict. At this time last year, Taiwan was facing a severe drought, he said, expressing gratitude to Israel for sharing its technological experience in water resources utilization and desalination which has helped to enhance Taiwan's water supply stability and water treatment technology capabilities. He added that Taiwan looks forward to continuing bilateral exchanges on water technology issues as well as promoting cooperation on energy transition as both sides move toward achieving net-zero emissions goals. He also emphasized that Israel is developing rapidly in the fields of water resources, fintech innovation, electric vehicles, 5G and renewable energy, all of which were topics of discussion during this year's Conference. The Deputy Minister further said he believes the two sides can, via the platform of the Conference, combine their complementary strengths and advantages through collaboration in a range of sectors in order to boost commercial opportunities for both Taiwanese and Israeli enterprises.

Also speaking at the opening, Trade Commissioner Cohen stated that despite the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic and other challenges such as the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Taiwan and Israel have continued to actively promote closer economic and trade ties, which has borne fruit as evidenced by the fact that two-way trade increased 33% year on year to reach US$2.4 billion in 2021. He added that the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei has continued to facilitate connections between Israeli and Taiwanese enterprises to generate mutually beneficial business opportunities in various sectors from smart mobility to medical devices. He further expressed confidence in the Conference as an effective platform for expanding the scope of cooperation between Taiwan and Israel across a broad range of fields.

This year's Conference achieved many positive outcomes. Both sides agreed to boost their water resources exchanges, under which Taiwan is expected to benefit significantly from Israel's expertise in reclaimed water application and desalination technology. Regarding startups, Taiwan's Innovation Parks and Israel's creative institutions will strengthen their exchanges and explore cooperation opportunities together. Meanwhile, the two sides also agreed to continue enhancing their renewable energy exchanges in a range of areas, including hydrogen and CCUS (Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage). Moreover, they will also seek further cooperation opportunities in the development of ICT and 5G, and in fostering of startups in 5G virtual wireless access networks, edge computing and network cloud software, as well as in exploring manufacturing, medical and transportation applications to develop 5G solutions.