South Korea, Netherlands Form 'Semiconductor Alliance' for Resilience

MOSCOW (Sputnik) - Seoul and Amsterdam have established a "semiconductor alliance" for supply chain resilience, building on the two countries' unique positions as the world's leading manufacturer and a major semiconductor equipment supplier, a joint statement said on Wednesday.

"Both leaders recognized their unique and complementary position in the semiconductor value chain, and reaffirmed their commitment to build a semiconductor alliance encompassing the participation of governments, businesses, and universities. In this vein, the two leaders agreed to establish a bilateral semiconductor dialogue and a Semiconductor Talent Program, and to continue and expand business-to-business cooperation," the joint statement by South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol and Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte, issued by Yoon's office following the two leaders' meeting in The Hague, read.

As part of the two countries' cooperation strategy, Netherlands-based leading producer of chip-making equipment ASML, together with South Korean memory chip giant Samsung Electronics, will invest 1 trillion won ($761 million) to build a joint facility for ultra-fine processing technology in South Korea, the Yonhap news agency reported.

The new "semiconductor alliance" will be the basis for developing Seoul's defense cooperation with the Netherlands as well as with other NATO member states, Yoon said at a joint press conference. By cooperating in advanced technologies, the two countries will strengthen the security of Europe, Northeast Asia and the Indo-Pacific, he added.

Rutte told the press conference that the level of interaction between the two countries had increased to unprecedented levels. He also called the Netherlands' cooperation with South Korea in microelectronics very important, while praising Seoul as a crucial partner in defense and cybersecurity.