Taiwan Expo in Delhi to focus on tourism & culture

With an aim to create more awareness about Tourism and Culture aspects of Taiwan, Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) will be dedicating a sizeable area for showcasing the cultural and tourism offerings of Taiwan at the second Taiwan Expo 2019 scheduled to be held between May 16 and 18 at Pragati Maidan, Delhi.

“One-third of the exhibition will be dedicated to showcase “the unique culture” of Taiwan,” said Chung Kwang Tien, Ambassador, Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India.

“Our objective is to combine the soft power and the smart power of Taiwan. While bilateral trade between India and Taiwan has been growing year-on-year at good double digits, the people to people exchanges between the two countries has not been growing at the expected pace largely due to lack of awareness about the destination, Tien sad. While Taiwan received 11 million international visitors last year, the Indian component was only 30,000. We need to work on that,” he added.

In the bilateral trade, the Ambassador said, that both countries are “natural allies” as no conflict of any manner exist between the two countries. Taiwan was a late entrant to India’s trade scene, but emerged as one of key players in the last few years. While Taiwan was focusing on manufacturing sector initially, realising India’s demand for ICT and IoT related technologies, they will be focusing more on showcasing products in the ICT and IoT segments at the second Taiwan Expo, he added.

“The objective behind the Taiwan Expo is to enhance co-operation between the businesses of two countries. Around 130 Taiwanese companies will be showcasing their products at the Expo, he said. There will be separate forums on Medical and Green Technology at Taiwan Expo, she said. The Expo will be focusing mainly in six core areas this year. These are Smart Cities, Smart Healthcare, Taiwanese Lifestyle, Taiwanese Agriculture, Taiwanese Green Technology, Education, and Tourism and Culture,” said Karen Pai, Deputy Executive Director – Industry Marketing Department of TAITRA.

Taiwan- India bilateral trade volume reached USD 7 billion last year, an 11 per cent growth over 2017. Notwithstanding the trade war waging between major powers, Taiwan is hopeful of maintaining the growth momentum going forward as well.

Madhumita Ramanathan, Vice President, Invest India said that the agency has formed a dedicated ‘Taiwanese Plus’ desk to facilitate all kinds of investments between the two countries.