New Delhi: In a significant move, the Taiwanese government Wednesday announced that it will establish a Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in India’s financial capital Mumbai in sync with the broader aim of expanding overall cooperation between the two sides.
Taiwan’s decision to set up the TECC in Mumbai came at a time when leading Taiwanese companies are increasingly looking at relocating their production bases from China to India, the US and countries in Europe amid Taipei’s increasingly tense relations with Beijing.
The relationship between China and Taiwan came under severe strain after US House Speaker Nancy Palosi’s visit to the self-governed island in August last year.
At present, Taiwan has TECCs in Delhi and Chennai and they have been playing an important role in expansion of two-way trade and investment relations.
The announcement on setting up of the TECC in Mumbai is seen as a major signal on part of both New Delhi and Taipei to ramp up the overall trajectory of ties.
India is keen on having production facilities of leading Taiwanese companies, including chip producers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC), the world’s largest chipmaker whose clients included Apple.
In a statement, the Taiwanese foreign ministry said the decision to set up the TECC in Mumbai was taken in view of “significant progress” witnessed in cooperation between India and Taiwan in areas of trade, critical supply chains, science and technology, culture, and education in recent years.
In light of this development, the Taiwan government will establish the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center (TECC) in Mumbai in order to further deepen exchanges and cooperation between the two countries, it said.
“Since the TECC in Chennai was set up in 2012, nearly 60 per cent of all Taiwanese businesses investing and opening factories in India have chosen to develop their operations in southern India,” it said.
“Chennai and its surrounding areas have thus benefited from the investments made by Taiwanese manufacturing industries. The establishment of the TECC in Mumbai is expected to have a similar effect in western India,” the foreign ministry said.
New Delhi and Taipei inked a landmark bilateral investment pact nearly five years back that seeks to protect Taiwanese investment in India.
The bilateral trade between India and Taiwan is on an upswing. The volume of trade increased from $ 2 billion in 2006 to $ 8.9 billion in 2021.
In its statement, the Taiwan foreign ministry also referred to India’s increasing economic prowess and demographic dividend.
“India became the world’s fifth-largest economy in 2022, and becomes the most populous nation this year. With its enormous market and related business opportunities, India has emerged as a major investment destination for global enterprises,” the ministry said.
It said the TECC in Mumbai will help expand mutually beneficial trade and investment opportunities between Taiwan and India.
“Under Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, it will also promote exchanges and cooperation in science and technology, education, culture, and people-to-people ties between Taiwan and western India,” it said.
“Furthermore, the TECC in Mumbai will provide visa services, document authentication, and emergency assistance to businesspeople, tourists, and Taiwanese nationals in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, as well as the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu,” it said.
China considers Taiwan as its breakaway province and insists it should be unified with the mainland, by force if necessary. Taiwan, however, sees itself as completely distinct from China.
Though India and Taiwan do not have formal diplomatic ties, the bilateral trade relations have been on an upswing.
In 1995, New Delhi set up the India-Taipei Association (ITA) in Taipei to promote interactions between the two sides and to facilitate business, tourism and cultural exchanges.
The ITA has also been authorised to provide all consular and passport services.
In the same year, Taiwan too established the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in Delhi.
PTI
