With a view to promoting practical diplomacy, innovative technology as well as international exchange and cooperation, NARLabs president Yeong-Her Wang and the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) secretary general Timothy Hsiang signed a MoU on March 5, 2020. This agreement pushes forward programs offering interdisciplinary technological support to Taiwan-friendly nations along with related research.
The ICDF has advocated for the deployment of international aid to countries with diplomatic ties to Taiwan for many years. Since its early days cooperating with agricultural industries, it has been involved in the promotion of fields such as public health and medicine, clean energy, e-commerce, information and communication technology, and environmental protection. In recent years, the fund has put Taiwan’s technological excellence to use in advancing international collaboration. This can be seen in the integration of geospatial information technology and satellite imagery to aid our South American allies in monitoring their national territory, observing volcanoes and fighting against forest plant diseases and insect pests.
NARLabs boasts eight national laboratories as its subsidiaries focusing on fields including earth and the environment, information and communication technology, biomedical technology, and science and technology policy. By combining the core capabilities and facilities of each research center, NARLabs boosts frontier technology, pursues global excellence and pioneers projects of social value.
The NARLabs and ICDF MoU includes the following three commitments:
1. Information exchange: In accordance with global trends in technology and international aid, to allow for employee exchange and the sharing of information, giving us a firmer grasp of technological trends around the world.
2. Technical cooperation: To utilize NARLabs technology, including satellite telemeter, earthquake disaster prevention, ocean and forest conservation, high-speed computing and internet of things technology, in aiding the ICDF to respond to Taiwan-friendly countries’ developmental demands in sectors such as agriculture, public health and medicine, information and communication technology, environmental protection and other innovative areas.
3. International publicity: To bring the results of NARLabs and Taiwan-friendly country technological development to the world and to conduct research into these results. To put forward international proposals for specific issues based on the conclusions of our research.
Both NARLabs and the ICDF look forward to putting their technology and soft power together to pROVide aid to Taiwan’s allies using their advanced research and development capabilities. With their aims set on societal and environmental progress, these organizations are looking to write a new chapter for Taiwan’s technology diplomacy.
