The 2023 Taiwan-Slovak Economic Consultations was convened in Taipei City on June 6 and was co-chaired by Deputy Minister of Economic Affairs Chern-Chyi "C.C." Chen and Slovak Ministry of Economy State Secretary Peter Svec. Fruitful outcomes were achieved in the meeting, with the two sides agreeing to boost bilateral cooperation in a variety of areas, including trade and investment promotion, innovative R&D, hydrogen energy, the electric vehicle supply chain, and startup development.
An investment opportunities forum, B2B matchmaking event and other related activities aimed at boosting networking ties and commercial opportunities for enterprises of the two sides were also held during the visit by the Slovak delegation, which included officials from several government agencies as well as representatives of various academic and research organizations and private enterprises in a range of sectors.
Speaking at a welcome dinner that she hosted on the evening prior to the Economic Consultations, Minister of Economic Affairs Mei-Hua Wang said the diversity of the Slovak delegation clearly demonstrates that the scope of Taiwan-Slovakia exchanges is becoming more extensive and that there are many potential economic and trade cooperation opportunities between the two sides. She further said Taiwan is positive about exploring collaborative opportunities that combine the two sides'complementary strengths in order to generate mutual prosperity and help strengthen the resilience and security of global supply chains.
During the Economic Consultations, Deputy Minister Chen outlined Taiwan's industrial, trade and energy policies, as well as progress on ongoing cooperation with the Slovak Republic and the direction of future cooperation. He noted that Taiwan has utilized its high-tech advantages to establish a key position in the global supply chain, and in response to international economic and trade changes, strengthen cooperation with democratic partners so as to diversify markets and boost supply chain resilience. He said Taiwan welcomes deepening collaboration with Slovakia in key sectors such as semiconductors and EVs and expressed the hope that Slovakia will support efforts to launch negotiations toward the signing a Taiwan-EU bilateral investment agreement which would generate significant mutual benefits.
Meanwhile, State Secretary Svec gave a briefing on the Slovak economy's strong points and challenges as well as the nation's ambitions to boost cooperation with Taiwan, particularly in the area of innovation in which Taiwan is a leader. He noted the automotive sector is the key pillar of the Slovak economy, accounting for over 50% of total industrial output and roughly 11% of GDP. As the sector goes green and as Slovakia actively works to develop its electric vehicle ecosystem, including installation of charging infrastructure, this presents further opportunities for industry cooperation and private sector partnerships between Taiwan and Slovakia.
The annual Economic Consultations dialogue platform was established in 2021, with the first session being held in November of that year. Since then, bilateral commercial, trade, industry and investment ties have grown steadily, and Slovakia has become an important gateway and investment destination in Europe for Taiwanese enterprises. In 2022, two-way trade amounted to US$471 million, marking a more than 34% increase over the previous year. The Ministry of Economic Affairs will continue actively promoting closer ties between Taiwan and Slovakia based on the solid foundations that have already been laid.