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Published Date: 2017-06-30
A Taiwan-ASEAN-India parliamentary friendship association was established on Friday. Kuomintang legislator Lin Li-chan has set up the association. A ceremony on Friday was attended by more than 30 lawmakers of different parties together with the representatives of the Philippines and Thailand stationed in Taiwan.
The parliamentary friendship association is intended to bolster the administration’s New Southbound policy. The policy seeks closer trade and cultural ties between Taiwan and the nations of South and Southeast Asia, as well as Australia and New Zealand.
Deputy foreign minister Wu Chih-chung said at the ceremony that Taiwan’s investment in ASEAN member countries rose to over US$90 billion in 2016. He said the bloc represented Taiwan’s second-largest trading partner.
The representative of the Philippines in Taiwan, Carlo Aquino, said he was happy to see the establishment of the association. He said the Philippines side looked forward to playing its part in the association’s success.