Taiwan's ties with Slovakia are deepening, a quiet win for Taipei as it looks for friends in Europe outside the usual big capitals.

• Three successive chairs of Slovakia's parliamentary pro-Taiwan caucus turned up together at Taiwan's National Day reception, along with 13 lawmakers from across party lines and two regional governors.
• The current caucus chair, Ondrej Dostál, called Taiwan a real friend of Slovakia and promised to keep standing with it.
• The relationship is built on chips: Taiwan has helped train hundreds of young Slovak engineers and set up two semiconductor labs with Slovak universities and the science academy.
• Taiwanese companies have put more than 300 million euros into Slovakia and created close to 2,500 jobs.
• Earlier wins include a working-holiday program for young people and a tax deal that removes double taxation on trade between the two.

Outlook: Expect more semiconductor and research tie-ups, with Taipei pushing to turn Slovakia from a partner into a co-owner of shared projects.