TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan signed an MOU on scientific research cooperation with India during the 2023 India-Taiwan Joint Committee on Cooperation in Science and Technology on Wednesday (Dec. 6).

National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) Deputy Minister Lin Min-tsung (林敏聰) and Indian Secretary of the Department of Science and Technology Abhay Karandikar jointly chaired the annual meeting. It was the first bilateral in-person ministerial-level talks since the COVID-19 pandemic, CNA reported.

The two sides discussed deepening cooperation in areas such as artificial intelligence, cybersecurity, biotechnology, nanoelectronics, green energy, and space technology. Later, Lin and Indian government researcher Dr. N. Kalaiselvi oversaw the signing of an MOU between Taiwan's National Applied Research Laboratories (NARlabs) and India’s Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (CSIR).

Under the agreement, research centers affiliated with NARLabs can engage freely in scientific research exchanges with 37 research centers under CSIR without the need for individual cooperation agreements. This move is expected to strengthen scientific cooperation between the two countries.

Taiwan and India have a close partnership in technology, having held 12 ministerial-level bilateral meetings, 29 bilateral forums, and seminars. They have executed over 115 cooperation projects to date.