Minister Nishimura Attends the Signing Ceremony of the MOC Between Imec and Rapidus, with Mr. Jan JAMBON, Minister-President of the Government of Flanders

Following the signing of the MOC, Minister Nishimura welcomed the conclusion of the MOC and expressed his expectation for the strengthening of cooperation in the future.

"We welcome the MOC between imec, which has formed one of the EU's top semiconductor R&D ecosystems, and Rapidus, the future production base for next-generation semiconductors in Japan. We expect that this MOC, in collaboration with the nearly-established Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center (LSTC), will contribute to establish designs and a manufacturing production base for next-generation semiconductors in the late 2020s, and strengthen semiconductor supply chain resiliency in like-minded countries and regions."

• Signed by:
  (Belgian side)
  Luc Van den hove
  imec（Interuniversity Microelectronics Centre）　President & CEO
  (Japan side)
  Atsuyoshi Koike　Rapidus　President & CEO
• For Endorsment:
  (Belgian side)
  Jan Jambon, Minister-President of The Government of Flanders and Flemish Minister for Foreign Policy, Culture, Digitalisation and Facilities
  (Japan side)
  Yasutoshi Nishimura, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry

＜MOC Overview＞

• The purpose of this MOC is to strengthen global collaboration in the semiconductor industry through the respective roles of the participants, and to carry out a long-term and sustainable collaboration on advanced semiconductor technologies. In particular, the goal is to strengthen the semiconductor ecosystem in Japan.
• Rapidus and imec have expressed their intention to set up a strategic partnership, with Rapidus becoming a core partner in imec's leading advanced nanoelectronics program, while the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the Flemish Government will support the goals and efforts of imec and Rapidus.
• imec and Rapidus intend to engage in bilateral projects on key enabling processes, such as EUV lithography technology etc.
• Rapidus may send engineers to imec in order to be trained and immersed in collaboration programs with imec.
• imec is willing to consider establishing an R&D team in Japan to jointly define long-term R&D roadmaps to further support these partnerships.
• imec and Rapidus will consider further collaboration with the soon-to-be-established Leading-edge Semiconductor Technology Center, which will be a next-generation semiconductor research and development hub.

Division in Charge

IT Industry Division, Commerce and Information Policy Bureau

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