In June 2024, Taiwanese President Lai Ching congratulated Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on his election victory and said, “We look forward to enhancing the fast-growing Taiwan-India partnership.” PM Modi thanked him, expressing his anticipation of “closer ties as we work towards mutually beneficial economic and technological partnership.”
Indeed, India-Taiwan cooperation is an idea whose time has come. The transition of India’s foreign policy from ‘Look East’ to ‘Act East’ a decade ago has energised the country’s bilateral relationship with Taiwan. At the Observer Research Foundation, we have followed with complete interest how the two are navigating the geopolitical and geoeconomic dynamics of their ties.
It is our view that Taiwan’s ‘New Southbound Policy’—launched in 2016 by then President Tsai Ing-Wen and since promoted by President Lai Ching-te—is proving to be a winning proposition for Taiwan and its partner countries across the region, including India.
As India proceeds full-throttle with its ambitions of becoming the world’s third largest economy by 2028 and a developed nation by 2047, it is likely to seek larger volumes of foreign investment. At the time of publishing this report, some 200 Taiwanese businesses have already invested in India’s electronics, information technology, and petrochemicals sectors. Taiwan’s initiative to establish industrial zones abroad could open untapped avenues for investment in India.
A new era of India-Taiwan economic cooperation and trade ties is on its way. Bilateral trade reached a record high of US$10.6 billion in 2024; and an emerging pact on labour mobility could see Indian workers employed in Taiwan’s manufacturing sectors beginning this year.
At present, there are more than 5,000 Indians living in Taiwan, of whom 3,000 are students in higher education. Meanwhile, the number of Taiwanese in India as either students or professionals is negligible. Moreover, while Taiwan has set up 39 language centres in India to promote cooperation in education and language learning, a higher volume of comparable initiatives could be launched by India.
The two sides are also planning to build joint semiconductor manufacturing facilities, for which the Indian government and businesses are engaging with captains of Taiwan’s tech industry. In 2023, Foxconn chairman Young Liu visited PM Modi to discuss plans for setting up a semiconductor plant in India; in early 2024, Liu was conferred the Padma Bhushan, India’s third highest civilian award. With India aspiring to become a global semiconductor hub, these events are significant.
Climate action is yet another priority that unites India and Taiwan. As they work towards their net-zero targets, they are championing a spectrum of clean technologies and encouraging green innovation.
The growing signs of cooperation are encouraging. But there is substantive work remaining to be done in order to realise the full potential of the India–Taiwan relationship. Governments alone cannot make it happen. The help of think tanks, businesses, and other institutions is needed to shape what could be an exciting future.
Towards this end, multistakeholder collaborations around supply chains will be crucial for advancing the resilience of both India and Taiwan. The updated bilateral investment agreement is driving trade growth, but greater utilisation is needed. In the realm of education, research, and innovation, initiatives like the Indo-Taiwan Joint Research Centre on Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning at IIT Ropar, and the India-Taiwan Programme of Cooperation in Science and Technology, are producing impressive outcomes. Still, there is much room for more joint projects, academic partnerships, student exchanges, and startup bridges that allow young tech-driven enterprises to learn from each other.
Even as diplomatic constraints continue to pose challenges, other ties are being built, and cultural diplomacy is expanding. The Taipei Economic and Cultural Center and the India Taipei Association, both founded in 1995, have been at the heart of efforts to promote economic partnerships, business, tourism, culture, and people-to-people exchanges between the two sides.
We are pleased to co-publish the present volume with our partner, the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation, in commemoration of the 30th anniversary of the founding of these two institutions. Their role in advancing the India-Taiwan relationship is laudable.
The essays collected here chronicle a three-decade-long journey. They reflect on the paths that have been travelled by the two in the past 30 years, and what they might mean for the road ahead. The authors identify new directions that can be taken for the bilateral to reach new heights. Just as importantly, they invite us to recognise that mutual respect and goodwill are a reliable anchor in an increasingly uncertain world.
Samir Saran is President, Observer Research Foundation.
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AS THE TAIPEI ECONOMIC and Cultural Center (TECC) and the India Taipei Association (ITA) celebrate their 30th year, Taiwan-India relations have made remarkable strides. Over the past three decades, our bilateral ties have expanded across multiple sectors and reached unprecedented heights.
Looking back on these 30 years, we can take pride in the many accomplishments that have shaped our partnership. From the growth in trade and investment to the expansion of educational exchanges and collaboration in the tech sector, these milestones underscore the deepening ties between our nations.
At the Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation (TAEF), we are pleased to collaborate with India’s Observer Research Foundation (ORF) to commemorate this milestone with a report. This report examines various aspects of Taiwan-India relations and offers policy recommendations. Advancing scholarship and fostering exchanges with India have been central to our mission. To this end, we have initiated several projects with ORF, including an annual dialogue, regular publications on bilateral relations, and this periodic report covering all facets of our engagement.
India has been a key partner for Taiwan, particularly within the framework of the New Southbound Policy Plus, and an important player in the Indo-Pacific. This is one of the main reasons why we in Taiwan have actively pursued outreach at both government and non-government domains.
There is immense promise in the next chapter of Taiwan-India relations. I firmly believe that the future of Taiwan-India relations will be shaped by our shared values, mutual respect, and a commitment to addressing the challenges that lie ahead. As Taiwan and India continue to grow and evolve, I encourage everyone—from government institutions to businesses and civil society—to contribute to this vibrant relationship and help pave the way for even greater success in the future.
I would like to congratulate the ITA and TECC on their remarkable 30 years of service and their immense contribution to advancing Taiwan and India’s bilateral ties. We have partnered with the representative offices to support their operations and hope our efforts have been successful.
As think tanks, we have aimed to complement the government’s efforts in maximising opportunities and minimising challenges. We serve as knowledge disseminators and take pride in acting as a bridge between Taiwan and India. While our relations have achieved milestones, there remains immense potential to be realised. Areas that could see further advancement include connectivity, people-to-people exchanges, commerce, technology, and education. We hope that our efforts, including this publication, will help bridge the knowledge gap and contribute to continued growth in our relationship.
On a personal note, witnessing the growth of Taiwan-India relations has been truly rewarding. The work the ITA and TECC have done over the years has been instrumental in laying the foundation for a brighter future, and I look forward to the many opportunities that lie ahead.
Happy reading.
Michael H.H. Hsiao is Chairman, Taiwan-Asia Exchange Foundation.