Taiwan opens third office in Mumbai, says it represents its continued promise

The new Mumbai office will serve Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, Goa and the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu

Published on: Oct 16, 2024, 21:54:54 IST

By Rezaul H Laskar

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NEW DELHI: The Taiwan government formally opened its third office in India at Mumbai on Wednesday, with foreign minister Chia-Lung Lin saying the move represents the “continued promise to enhance bilateral ties”.

A reception was held to celebrate the inauguration of the new office in Mumbai and the 113th National Day of Taiwan

The Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in Mumbai is Taiwan’s third office in India, following the establishment of a similar facility in New Delhi in 1995 and Chennai in 2012.

A reception held to celebrate the inauguration of the new office in Mumbai and the 113th National Day of Taiwan was attended by Baushuan Ger, the head of TECC in India, and Homer Chang, director general of the new office.

Lin said in a video message that the event highlighted the “remarkable progress in India-Taiwan relations in recent years”. He noted the opening of the TECC in Mumbai, a key strategic hub in western India, “not only reflects the success of Taiwan’s ‘New Southbound Policy’ and India’s ‘Act East Policy’, but also represents the continued promise to enhance bilateral ties”.

The office in Mumbai will serve four major western states – Maharashtra, Gujarat, Madhya Pradesh, and Goa – and the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu.

The new office has been opened at a time when Taiwan’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (PSMC) and India’s Tata Electronics have already begun work on a joint venture to manufacture semiconductors in Gujarat.

India and Taiwan “share common democratic values, and their relations have steadily advanced through growing collaborations and people-to-people exchanges in recent years”, the TECC said in a statement.

“Looking ahead, the office will continue to promote bilateral economic, technological, educational, and cultural exchanges,” it added.

While India and Taiwan don’t have formal diplomatic relations, both sides established representative offices in each other’s capitals in 1995.

Taiwan has the TECC in New Delhi, and India has the India-Taipei Association (ITA) office in Taipei and these facilities are responsible for promoting cooperation in trade, investment, science and technology, tourism and education

In 2023, two-way trade was worth $8.2 billion, and India was the 16th largest trading partner for Taiwan. Taiwan’s exports to India touched $6 billion, positioning India as its 12th largest export market.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Rezaul H Laskar
Rezaul Hasan Laskar is Foreign Editor with the Hindustan Times, which he joined in 2015. He began as a journalist in his hometown of Shillong in northeast India and has worked in newspapers and wire services over the years. He moved to New Delhi in 1997 and initially focused on defence, national security, Jammu and Kashmir and the northeast, while also working of foreign policy and international relations. He has been part of the media delegation accompanying PMs on foreign visits and has reported from destinations ranging from Tibet to Ukraine. Between 2007 and 2013, he was the Press Trust of India correspondent in Pakistan, one of only two Indian journalists allowed to report from the country. He extensively covered Pakistan’s domestic politics and the life of the common people, as well as the fallout of the 2008 Mumbai attacks on India-Pakistan relations and the subsequent trial in Pakistan of the suspects involved in the attack. As part of his reportage in Pakistan, he travelled the breadth of the country, from the Swat Valley to Balochistan. Reza’s first gig in journalism was writing a weekly music column, and music – especially classic rock – remains a keen interest. He is also a movie buff and a keen photographer.Read More

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