India-Taiwan trade and travel soar

The trade partnership between India and Taiwan has improved, with bilateral dealings expected to touch $16 billion – up from the present $12.5 billion. In addition, direct flights between the two nations are set to resume, after a gap of six years.

EVA Air will begin a new non-stop service from Taipei to Delhi on 1 December. Five flights are expected to be operated per week with Airbus A330-300 aircraft, the new route making EVA Air the only Taiwan-based airline offering non-stop passenger flights to India.

“EVA is amongst the best airlines in the world,” affirmed Mumin Chen, representative, Taipei Economic & Cultural Centre (TECC), India, while talking to Business India. “India and Taiwan will be connected through direct flights after a gap of six years (it was stopped during the COVID-19 pandemic). Passengers will have an option to fly direct in seven hours – which would help the business community a great deal.”

Passengers at present fly out via Bangkok, Singapore or Hong Kong to reach Taipei. The new arrangement will reduce flying time between the two nations with a strong trade partnership.

“I would rate EVA as amongst the best airlines in the world,” Chen added. “We have a fleet of A330 aircraft, which would enhance people-to-people exchange. Whilst most Indians travel to Taipei for business, travellers from Taipei include those who want to visit Buddhist sites in India – like Bodh Gaya and Dharamshala”.

Visas are not much of an issue for Indians wishing to travel to Taipei. They could apply to any of the three offices in India – Delhi, Mumbai and Chennai. “If a passenger has a visa for the UK, the US or Schengen, they could apply online for a visa to Taiwan,” he explained.

“The launch of the non-stop Taipei-Delhi service is an important milestone in EVA Air’s network development,” claimed Clay Sun, president, EVA Air. “Growing connections across the manufacturing, semiconductor, artificial intelligence and technology industries continue to drive closer economic ties between Taiwan and India. Our new Delhi route not only provides a more efficient travel option for business and leisure passengers but also strengthens connectivity between India and North America through our Taipei hub.”

India and Taiwan have maintained strong trade ties, with the bilateral trade between the two nations touching $12.5 billion during the last financial year. While there is a trade imbalance between the two nations, India stands as Taiwan’s 15th largest trade partner. Its trade deficit with Taiwan is roughly $8.49 billion as of now.

Boosting trade

India and Taiwan established representative offices in each other’s capitals in 1995. “We are optimistic of the bilateral trade touching $16 billion for the ongoing financial year,” Chen hoped. “For the first half of the current year, trade has already crossed $8 billion”.

Taiwan’s exports to India include electronic components and computer hardware, while India’s exports consist of petroleum products, iron and steel goods, among others. However, the cornerstone of the two-way trade is semiconductor co-operation. There are two projects Taiwan is working on in this segment in India – one in Gujarat and another in Uttar Pradesh.

Taiwanese investment in India has also increased.  Important projects include Century Development Co’s Technology and Innovation International Park (TIIP) in Bengaluru and the Indo-Taiwan Industrial Park being developed in Gujarat. These initiatives are likely to strengthen bilateral supply chains. India holds the potential to attract up to $15 billion investment from Taiwan in the next few years.

Efforts by both India and Taiwan have enabled this level of economic co-operation. For India, Taiwan’s strengths in semiconductors, artificial intelligence (AI), electronics manufacturing, hardware, mining and food processing are crucial for advancing flagship initiatives, such as ‘Make in India’, ‘Digital India’ and ‘Skill India’. Indian firms are also finding new opportunities in Taiwan’s information technology and engineering sectors. At the same time, India’s vast consumer market offers Taiwan an opportunity to reduce its economic dependence on China. Taiwan’s advanced agricultural technology could further support India’s efforts to modernise agriculture.

While the future of India-Taiwan relations appears promising, the implementation of the labour mobility agreement will be a defining factor for both democracies. A stronger India-Taiwan partnership would also help build a more transparent, democratic and mutually beneficial economic order in the Indo-Pacific region.

Earlier, in May, an all-party delegation from India visited Taipei, which included leaders from political parties including the BJP, NPP, INC and the Shiv Sena. Taiwan is now looking at enhancing its ties with India in the education sector too. There are 40 Taiwanese Mandarin teachers active in India and they are optimistic about collaborating with universities to improve this number.