Taiwan and US co-host first GCTF workshop in Kosovo on AI and tech supply chains

Taiwan and the United States have continued to deepen their global partnership in recent years, extending the defense lines of the democratic camp outward through multilateral cooperation platforms. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and U.S. overseas missions recently co-hosted a Global Cooperation and Training Framework (GCTF) workshop in Pristina, the capital of Kosovo. This marks the first time the mechanism has expanded into Kosovo, with its core agenda focusing on high-technology industries, artificial intelligence, and how to draw upon Taiwan's industrial development experience to jointly build secure and resilient global supply chains with like-minded international partners. This event symbolizes Taiwan's increasingly pivotal and substantive role amid the wave of global democratic supply chain restructuring.

The GCTF workshop held in Kosovo attracted high levels of attention and participation from local government, industrial, and academic circles. Republic of China Representative to Hungary Yi-lung Wang specially attended and delivered an important address, clearly pointing out that Taiwan possesses irreplaceable advantages in semiconductor manufacturing and the artificial intelligence industry within the global high-tech landscape. Wang emphasized that Taiwan is very willing and eager to engage in multilateral cooperation with the United States and other like-minded democratic countries to jointly assist Kosovo in upgrading its industrial capacity and further transforming the country into a highly secure and resilient supply chain hub within the Eastern European and Balkan region.

Looking back at the development of the Global Cooperation and Training Framework, since its joint establishment by Taiwan and the United States in 2015, it was primarily rooted in Taiwan, focusing on training regional talent in public health, humanitarian assistance, law enforcement cooperation, and other issues. However, with drastic changes in the geopolitical situation and the high importance placed on supply chain security by global democracies, the GCTF has actively pursued "globalization" in recent years. It has not only established regular or project-based cooperation in Japan, Australia, Europe, and other regions, but has also continuously expanded the breadth of its cooperative topics. Its successful expansion to Kosovo demonstrates that the tentacles of the Taiwan-U.S. partnership have reached deep into the Balkan Peninsula, an area previously rarely involved, holding high strategic indicator significance.

From the perspective of geopolitics and economic security, Kosovo is situated at an important crossroads in southeastern Europe. In recent years, it has actively sought economic transformation and digital development while hoping to integrate into the European integration process. However, against the backdrop of current global supply chain geopolitical risks, supply disruption crises, and information security challenges, ensuring the security of critical technologies and industrial chains has become a major test for emerging democracies. With its foundation in semiconductors and information technology, Taiwan's industrial development experience, technical standards, and defensive capabilities displayed in the face of external threats provide a highly valuable reference model for Kosovo.

Through the platform of this GCTF workshop, Taiwan has not only successfully demonstrated the soft power of "tech diplomacy" and "values-based diplomacy" to the international community, but has also substantively deepened strategic coordination with the United States in the Eastern European region. At a critical juncture of U.S.-China confrontation and the restructuring of global supply chains, Taiwan has proven—by sharing its high-tech industrial advantages—that it is not only an indispensable key force in the global economy, but also a core partner in safeguarding democratic, free, and secure supply chains. In the future, with the promotion of more such mechanisms, cooperation between Taiwan and like-minded nations is expected to become even closer, jointly making substantive contributions to global economic resilience and regional stability.