• By Liu Tzu-hsuan / Staff reporter

Taiwan and Australia yesterday signed a scientific and technological cooperation agreement, the National Science and Technology Council said.

Representative to Australia Douglas Hsu (徐佑典) and Australian Representative in Taiwan Robert Fergusson signed the Science and Technology Arrangement in Canberra after six months of discussions and planning, the council said.

Council Minister Wu Tsung-tsong (吳政忠) proposed the partnership when visiting senior officials at the Australian Department of Industry, Science and Resources (DISR) in October last year, it said.

The DISR and Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade officials witnessed the signing, while representatives from the council, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Australian Office, Taipei, participated online, the council said.

The agreement consists of 22 research cooperation and talent exchange programs, focusing on four main areas: manufacturing information and communications technology, semiconductor and critical technology supply chain resilience, biotechnology, and the net zero transition, it said.

The arrangement is an upgrade from a memorandum of understanding (MOU) Taipei and Canberra signed in 2012, which demonstrated the importance both parties attach to bilateral cooperation in scientific research, Hsu said.

Under the agreement, the two sides would expand cooperation with the aim of further contributing to international society, he said.

DISR General Manager Richard Samuels said he hoped that the deal would help bolster relations between Taiwan and Australia through concrete actions, the council said.

Australia is the fifth country to sign such an agreement with Taiwan, following the US, Germany, France and Canada, it said.

Taiwan has made concrete progress under the deals, including holding the first Science and Technology Cooperation Dialogue with the US in May last year and a scientific research conference with France last month, the council said.

Taiwan and Germany are cooperating in many fields, such as semiconductors and lithium batteries, it said, adding that the two sides are scheduled to hold high-level talks in Germany later this year to review the outcomes of the arrangement.

Separately, Taiwan and Australia last month signed an MOU on transport safety and information exchanges, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Office in Australia said.

The two sides have long been cooperating on aviation safety, with the Aviation Safety Committee signing a similar MOU with the Australian Bureau of Air Safety Investigation in 1998, Hsu said.

The updated MOU expands the scope of cooperation from civil aviation to include maritime and railway transportation safety, including accident investigation, safety research and technical training, he said.