Czech minister, U.K. tech adviser open pavilions at SEMICON 2025

Taipei, Sept. 10 (CNA) Czech Science Minister Marek Ženíšek and U.K. National Technology Adviser Dave Smith opened their countries' pavilions at SEMICON Taiwan 2025 in Taipei Wednesday.

Ženíšek said the Czech Republic's pavilion showcases the country's semiconductor cluster and will help deepen cooperation with Taiwan.

He was joined by Jan Michal, head of the investment agency CzechInvest, who said the goal was to highlight the country's industry and connect with Taiwanese partners.

Czech media noted that Ženíšek's trip marks the first visit to Taiwan by a serving government minister from Prague, which does not maintain formal diplomatic relations with Taipei.

Meanwhile, Smith said 34 British firms are exhibiting this year, a record high, and pointed to the U.K.'s new industrial strategy aimed at strengthening its semiconductor sector.

Smith said the U.K., home to the world's third-largest technology sector, was fully behind strengthening its semiconductor industry, noting that it had launched a new industrial strategy in June.

Also in attendance was U.K. Representative to Taiwan Ruth Bradley-Jones, who praised Taiwan's "cutting-edge" strengths in semiconductors and artificial intelligence.

"We [U.K.] have really complementary offers, with the UK offering innovation, R&D and scalable ideas, and Taiwan providing large-scale manufacturing and global supply chains, so I really think this is a partnership that is going places," Bradley-Jones said.

Organizers said this year's SEMICON includes 17 national pavilions, the most ever, with Canada, Costa Rica, Lithuania, Sweden, and Vietnam joining for the first time.

More than 1,200 companies are taking part, with 4,100 booths and over 100,000 attendees expected.