Taiwan to open third Taipei Economic & Cultural Centre in India, this time in Mumbai

After New Delhi and Chennai, Taiwan has announced plans to expand its official presence in India by setting up a new representative office in Mumbai. India and Taiwan do not maintain formal diplomatic ties, but the two sides opened representative offices in 1995 - a Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC) in New Delhi and an “India Taipei Association” in Taipei. They were seen as a “turning point” to promote bi-lateral relations. Taiwan has set up an office in Chennai in December 2012. Why Taiwan is expanding presence in India? The decision to establish Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre (TECC) in India’s commercial capital, Mumbai, is seen as Taiwan’s aim to expand overall cooperation between the two nations. Also, the move to set up the TECC in Mumbai comes at a time when major companies in Taiwan are increasingly looking at relocating their production bases to India from China. The relationship between Taiwan and China got bitter after US House Speaker Nancy Pelosi visited the self-governed island nation in August 2022. However, a report by Hindustan Times quoted people familiar with the matter saying that Taiwan had raised the issue of setting up an office in Mumbai more than two years ago after there was a significant increase in trade ties in central India. What are these facilities for? Currently, India has the India-Taipei Association (ITA) office in Taipei. These facilities function as de facto missions and are responsible for promoting cooperation in trade, investment, tourism, education, and science and technology in both the countries. In a statement, Taiwan’s foreign ministry said the establishment of a TECC in Mumbai is aimed at further advancing “substantive ties” with India and deepening exchanges and cooperation. How will it help India-Taiwan ties? India has been keen on having production facilities of leading Taiwanese companies, including chip producers such as Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Corporation (TSMC) which is world’s largest chipmaker. Taiwanese foreign minister issued a statement saying 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. The foreign ministry explained that since the opening of TECC in Chennai, nearly 60 per cent of all Taiwanese businesses investing and opening factories in India have chosen to develop their operations in southern India. “Chennai and its surrounding areas have thus benefited from the investments made by Taiwanese manufacturing industries. The establishment of the TECC in Mumbai is expected to have a similar effect in western India,” Taiwanese foreign ministry added. Around five years back, New Delhi and Taipei signed a landmark bilateral investment pact seeking to protect Taiwanese investment in India. Trade volume between both the countries increased from USD 2 billion in 2006 to USD 8.9 billion in 2021. Taiwan foreign ministry also mentioned about India’s increasing economic prowess and demographic dividend. “India became the world’s fifth-largest economy in 2022, and becomes the most populous nation this year. With its enormous market and related business opportunities, India has emerged as a major investment destination for global enterprises,” the ministry said. “Furthermore, the TECC in Mumbai will provide visa services, document authentication, and emergency assistance to businesspeople, tourists, and Taiwanese nationals in the states of Maharashtra, Goa, Gujarat, and Madhya Pradesh, as well as the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu,” the statement said. With inputs from agencies