Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council (NSTC) and the Lithuanian Science Council (LMT) on Friday signed a Memorandum of Understanding pledging to allocate up to 5 million euros to science projects over three years, reports the business daily Verslo Žinios.
The document stipulates that the two institutions will each allocate 2 million euros to scientific research until 2026 and fund a maximum of 10 projects per year, with an additional 1 million euros to be allocated in 2027 for further development.
Gintaras Valinčius, chairman of LMT, told Verslo Žinios that the funding will cover research projects in the fields of health, biotechnology, new materials and processes, including lasers.
In addition, there are negotiations to set up a joint biotechnology laboratory in Lithuania, with the LMT ready to invest up to 10 million euros, he said.
“This is a significant sum for the creation of a Lithuanian laboratory dedicated to gene editing. This would have a significant impact not only for Lithuania but also for Europe – it would create a high-tech service centre to which all scientific institutions could turn,” Valinčius told the business daily.
Yi-Juang Chern, Deputy Minister of Taiwan’s National Science and Technology Council, said that Taiwan is currently particularly interested in gene editing technology, which is very advanced in Lithuania.
The memorandum was signed during a joint Taiwan-Lithuania biotechnology research symposium in Vilnius, which was organised for the first time.
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