Taiwan-India trade last year grew to record highs, and India would continue to promote bilateral ties to realize the potential of Taiwan-India collaboration, India-Taipei Association Director-General Gourangalal Das said on Thursday night at an event celebrating India Republic Day.
Speaking at the event commemorating India’s 75 years of independence, Minister of Foreign Affairs Joseph Wu (吳釗燮) said that in the past few years, Taiwan and India have been expanding the areas in which they can work together, including trade, education, culture and science.
Such collaborations contributed to a staggering increase in Taiwan-India trade last year, which rose to a record NT$7.7 billion (US$276.7 million), or 64 percent, he said.
Photo courtesy of the India-Taipei Association
Das said that he was glad to see growth in bilateral investments, as well as the steady development of a training collaboration in high-tech industries, adding that he hoped for greater opportunities for both sides to work together.
Das also discussed India’s accomplishments since independence.
He said that India is a forerunner of democracy and Indians, regardless of gender, social status or education level, enjoy the same rights.
Photo: CNA
Over the past 75 years, 1.3 billion Indians have developed an appreciation for democratic values, he said.
“As an Indian, I am proud that India is the world’s largest democratic country,” Das said, adding that it was an honor to share Republic Day celebrations with Taiwan, a “young, vibrant democracy” in Asia.
Amid the COVID-19 pandemic, which threatens nations around the world, countries are becoming stronger by helping each other, Das said.
Taiwan’s performance during the pandemic — rapidly controlling its own COVID-19 situation and reaching out to help others, including India — is unique, he said.
India is also doing its part to combat the pandemic, he added.
The Mainland Affairs Council (MAC) yesterday said it is fully aware of the situation following reports that the son of ousted Chinese politician Bo Xilai (薄熙來) has arrived in Taiwan and is to marry a Taiwanese. Local media reported that Bo Guagua (薄瓜瓜), son of the former member of the Political Bureau of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of China, is to marry the granddaughter of Luodong Poh-Ai Hospital founder Hsu Wen-cheng (許文政). The pair met when studying abroad and arranged to get married this year, with the wedding breakfast to be held at The One holiday resort in Hsinchu
Tropical Storm Usagi strengthened to a typhoon this morning and remains on track to brush past southeastern Taiwan between Friday and Sunday, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said. The storm, which as of 8am was still 1,100km southeast of southern Taiwan, is currently expected to enter the Bashi Channel and then turn north, moving into waters southeast of Taiwan, the CWA said. Because of its rapid speed — 28kph as of 8am — a sea warning for the storm could be issued tonight, rather than tomorrow, as previously forecast, the CWA said. In terms of its impact, Usagi is to bring scattered or
An orange gas cloud that leaked from a waste management plant yesterday morning in Taoyuan’s Guanyin District (觀音) was likely caused by acidic waste, authorities said, adding that it posed no immediate harm. The leak occurred at a plant in the district’s Environmental Science and Technology Park at about 7am, the Taoyuan Fire Department said. Firefighters discovered a cloud of unidentified orange gas leaking from a waste tank when they arrived on the site, it said, adding that they put on Level A chemical protection before entering the building. After finding there was no continuous leak, the department worked with the city’s Department
‘SIGN OF DANGER’: Beijing has never directly named Taiwanese leaders before, so China is saying that its actions are aimed at the DPP, a foundation official said National Security Bureau (NSB) Director-General Tsai Ming-yen (蔡明彥) yesterday accused Beijing of spreading propaganda, saying that Chinese President Xi Jinping (習近平) had singled out President William Lai (賴清德) in his meeting with US President Joe Biden when talking about those whose “true nature” seek Taiwanese independence. The Biden-Xi meeting took place on the sidelines of the APEC summit in Peru on Saturday. “If the US cares about maintaining peace across the Taiwan Strait, it is crucial that it sees clearly the true nature of Lai and the ruling Democratic Progressive Party (DPP) in seeking Taiwanese independence, handles the Taiwan question with extra
RSS