Paraguay president visits Southern Taiwan Science Park

Taipei, May 9 (CNA) Accompanied by President Lai Ching-te (賴清德), Paraguayan President Santiago Peña on Saturday visited the Southern Taiwan Science Park in Tainan, which houses facilities of many tech heavyweights including contract chipmaker Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.

In a statement, the Presidential Office said Peña, who arrived in Taiwan Thursday, expressed his appreciation to the government for arranging the tour to the country's high-tech hub where he witnessed first-hand the achievements in semiconductor and high-tech development.

Addressing a briefing by the science park, Peña praised Taiwan for its success in sowing the seeds of technological advancements four decades ago, efforts that have now blossomed and resulted in the nation becoming a global leader in the semiconductor and high-tech industry.

The Paraguayan president said Paraguay and Taiwan use different languages, have different cultures and are about 19,000 kilometers apart, but the two countries both seek to achieve prosperity and are aware of the importance of succeeding in academia, innovation and high-tech development.

Peña said the ongoing state visit has helped him better understand how Taiwan has integrated the resources of the government, industrial sector and academic circles to push for high-tech development, adding that its success is a model for his country to develop its own tech policies.

In response, Lai said Taiwan will share its experiences in technology development, science park governance and industrial upgrades with Paraguay, which is one of the nation's 12 diplomatic allies.

In addition to the visit to the Southern Taiwan Science Park, Peña also visited the National Center for High-performance Computing Saturday, according to the Presidential Office.

Peña is scheduled to wrap up his state visit Sunday.