Representative Bruno Hromý of the Slovak Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei and others visited the Taichung City Government today (24th). The two sides exchanged views on tourism, diplomacy, education, culture, and digital development. According to Deputy Mayor Guo-Rong Huang, the government welcomed Representative Hromý to Taichung. Besides, he hopes the two sides will have more extensive exchanges and develop closer relations.

Representative Hromý expressed his gratitude for the hospitality the Taichung City Government. He mentioned that this was not his first in Taiwan, as he had been here over a decade ago as an exchange student at National Taiwan University. He felt very comfortable returning to Taiwan. He also welcomed Taiwanese people to visit Slovakia, which uses the Euro and is part of the Schengen Area. Several years ago, they established a working holiday program to encourage young people to work and travel. He also hoped to promote friendly relations between Taichung and Banská Bystrica in Slovakia. Deputy Mayor Huang welcomed this proposal.

Representative Hromý said that the office planned to hold a castle exhibition in the four Central European countries (Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, and Slovakia) at the National Library of Public Information in the first half of this year. Earlier today, he also went to survey the place. In November this year, the office plans to hold a joint exhibition of Slovak artists and hopes to choose a cultural center in Taichung or other suitable sites to conduct it. Moreover, he hopes to give speeches or hold events at universities and colleges in Taichung in the future, so that more Taiwanese people can understand Slovakia's beauty and enhance bilateral cultural exchanges.

The Secretariat added that Slovakia locates in the center of Europe, with a population of about 5.45 million, of which industries are mainly automobiles, electronics, and chemicals. The primary import and export items include auto parts, integrated circuits, comprehensive processing machines, bicycles, hand tools, etc. And the companies in our country, such as Delta Electronics Inc., AU Corporation, Foxconn Technology Group, and BizLink Holding Inc., set up factories in Taichung or promote industry-university cooperation and have invested in Slovakia. Additionally, Slovakia is actively developing digital innovation industries and hopes to have further exchanges with the Information Management Center of Taichung City on the development of smart cities.

Today's visit atmosphere was warm and harmonious. Participants included Deputy Mayor Huang, Representative Hromý, Director of Secretariat Jia-Zhen Xie, Director of Cultural Affairs Bureau, Jia-Jun Chen, Deputy Director of Education Bureau Jun-Jie Yeh, Deputy Director of Information Management Center Hui-Min Huang, and CEO of Taiqiang Culture Co., Ltd. Song-Ming Gao.