Taiwan to open economic-cultural centre in Mumbai

India on Thursday said it promotes engagement with Taiwan in several areas including trade and investment and Taipei's decision to open an economic and cultural centre in Mumbai should be seen in that context.

The comments by external affairs ministry spokesperson Arindam Bagchi came a day after the Taiwanese government 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.

"Our policy on Taiwan is clear and consistent. The government facilitates and promotes interactions in areas of trade, investment, tourism, culture, education and other such people-to-people contacts and exchanges," Bagchi said replying to a question.

He said Taiwan's decision to open TECC in Mumbai should be seen in that context.

Taiwan's decision to set up the TECC came at a time 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 on Wednesday that 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 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 percent of all Taiwanese businesses investing and opening factories in India have chosen to develop their operations in southern India," 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 India-Taipei Association has also been authorised to provide all consular and passport services.

In the same year, Taiwan too established the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in Delhi.