Taipei, April 14 (CNA) A large scale Taiwan-India forum aimed at increasing commercial exchanges and helping Taiwanese businessmen to "seize the India trend" will be held from April 27-28 in Taipei, organizers said Friday.
"This is the first time that experts from Taiwanese and Indian enterprises, academia, government and research institutes will have assembled on a single platform to discuss a wide range of commercial topics on India, " said Ho Mei-yueh, secretary-general of the Taiwan-India Cooperation Council (TICC).
The forum, titled "Seize the India Trend" is being organized by the TICC, the Taiwan Thinktank and the Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) and is a response to the "Go South" policy the government advocates to shift the over-dependence of Taiwan's economy on China to South Asia, especially India.
The list of foreign guest speakers features executives from well-known Indian enterprises such as TVS Electronics, Synovate Business Consulting, and the Manufacturers' Association for Information Technology (MAIT).
Acer founder Stan Shih will lead a group of local speakers from the fields of government agencies, enterprises and the media.
Taiwanese businessmen have been successful in China, the Philippines, the Czech Republic and Hungary in the past few years, and it is time for them to take a look at India -- one of the fastest-emerging markets, said Vijay Gokhale, director-general of the India-Taipei Association.
India is going full-speed for political reform and refining the infrastructure, which includes airports, ports and highways, said Gokhale, adding that "in five years you will see big changes in India."
With more than 100 million middle-class people, India will also be a market with strong buying power that will benefit Taiwanese businesses, Gokhale added. He encouraged Taiwan people to learn more about India through the exchange forum.
The speakers will address general topics such as Taiwan's trade and economic policies in response to India's emerging market and branding Taiwan enterprises on the first day. More detailed sessions on different sectors -- textiles, medical, software and automobiles, to name a few -- will take place on the second day.
A semi-government organization established in February with the help of the Taiwan Thinktank, the TICC aims at strengthening economic, trade, parliamentary, artistic and cultural ties between Taiwan and India.
The forum will be held at the International Convention Center of the National Taiwan University Hospital.