India, Taiwan should consider finalising FTA as soon as possible: Taiwan Government Representative

Taiwanese representative said Taiwan has been actively pursuing FTA with like-minded trading partners including India and reaffirmed Taipei's focus on supporting the rules-based international order

India and Taiwan should firm up the proposed free trade agreement (FTA) at the earliest as it will remove all barriers to trade and investment and help create a resilient supply chain, Government Representative at Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in India Baushuan Ger said.

The Taiwanese representative said Taiwan is keen to share its expertise with India in critical sectors such as semiconductors, 5G, information security and artificial intelligence and that his country can be an "excellent" partner to develop India's high-tech supply chain.

Mr. Ger said Taiwan has been actively pursuing FTA with like-minded trading partners including India and reaffirmed Taipei's focus on supporting the rules-based international order.

"The signing of the FTA will further remove all trade and investment barriers and lead to a jump in bilateral trade and investment," Mr. Ger told PTI.

"In addition, it will help attract Taiwan companies to invest in India to establish production bases, sell India-made products to the world, and help India transform into a global manufacturing centre," Mr. Ger said.

Mr. Ger’s comments came amid escalating tensions in the Taiwan Strait following China’s military build-up in the region in response to U.S. House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s visit to the self-ruled island of more than 23 million people in August. China considers Taiwan as its breakaway province.

Taiwan is a leading producer of semiconductors globally and at least a couple of Taiwanese companies have shown interest in India's production-linked incentives (PLIs) scheme worth ₹76,000 crore for the electronics sector.