TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Foreign Minister Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍) said French President Emmanuel Macron has raised the idea of Taiwan and the EU helping Africa build “sovereign AI,” highlighting Taiwan’s growing role in global technology supply chains.
Lin said Taiwan is indispensable to Europe’s reindustrialization as the continent seeks to rebuild manufacturing capacity amid supply disruptions tied to the war in Ukraine, per CNA. He said he has visited Europe five times since taking office and that Europe is focused on reindustrialization and defense, but faces manufacturing gaps Taiwan can fill through advanced processes and mass production.
He added that cooperation extends beyond semiconductors to ICT industries, including servers and data centers, which are critical to providing the computing power needed for AI development. Lin said Macron raised the idea during the Africa Forward Summit in Kenya, where French officials privately asked Taiwan to recommend major electronics firms to help build AI infrastructure in Africa.
According to Lin, Macron told attending leaders that the EU and Taiwan could jointly support Africa in developing sovereign AI systems. He said France aims to avoid reliance on China’s “red supply chain” while seeking strategic autonomy from the US, positioning Taiwan as a ready partner.
Lin said Taiwan is shifting from “values diplomacy” to “value-added diplomacy,” aiming to deliver tangible benefits to partners and strengthen its position as an indispensable global actor. He added that without Taiwan, Europe would struggle to meet its goals of reindustrialization and defense readiness.
Lin said he will travel to Warsaw for the Taiwan Expo in Europe, which opened on June 22 and showcased solutions in AI, smart cities, healthcare, and transportation. Polish Foreign Minister Radosław Sikorski has also expressed interest in building a strategic technology partnership with Taiwan, signaling broader European engagement, per Economic Daily News.
Taiwan’s cooperation with the EU has expanded to areas such as advanced packaging and satellite technologies, alongside existing investments across the US, Japan, and Europe, per UDN.
