Former Indian defense minister George Fernandes and a delegation of India's leading academics will be attending a conference entitled "India-Japan-Taiwan Trialogue: Prospects for Democratic Coopera-tion" held by the Taiwan Thinktank in Taipei tomorrow.
Fernandes, currently a member of the House of the People and president of the United Party, is slated to give a keynote speech in the conference.
Fernandes and the Indian delegation's visit is hailed as a rare high-level exchange between Taiwan and India, which, despite increased ties over recent years, see few high-ranking official interactions because of pressure from China.
Among the delegation are Jagdish Shettigar, economic policy adviser to the BJP, Shyam Sunder, professor of accounting, economics and finance at the Yale School of Management, Y.S. Rajan, principal adviser of the Confederation of Indian Industry and M.D. Nalapat, professor of geopolitics and UNESCO Peace Chair at the Manipal Academy of Higher Education.
Jaya Jaitly, former president of India's Samata Socialist Party, will also attend the conference. She is the daughter of India's first-ever ambassador to Japan.
The conference "aims to promote awareness of potential areas of tripartite cooperation between India, Japan and Taiwan in the areas of economic growth and trade, high-tech industry, democratic development as well as other inter-regional issues of vital interest to each country," the Taiwan Thinktank said in a press release.
The think tank said it believes that an India-Japan-Taiwan strategic triangle will not only strengthen India-Taiwan and Japan-Taiwan relations, but also enhance interaction between India and Japan.
"This trilateral cooperation will undoubtedly consolidate the alliance of common values that each of these three countries shares: freedom, democracy, human rights and peace," it said.
Fernandes, who left office as defense minister this May, has maintained friendly connections with Taiwan. He is the first ministerial-level official in India to brave Beijing's pressure to meet with officials from the Taipei Economic and Cultural Center in New Delhi.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
President William Lai (賴清德) yesterday thanked Palau for its continued support of Taiwan's international participation, as Taipei was once again excluded from the World Health Assembly (WHA) currently taking place in Switzerland. "Palau has never stopped voicing support for Taiwan" in the UN General Assembly, the WHO and other UN-affiliated agencies, Lai said during a bilateral meeting with visiting Palau President Surangel Whipps Jr. "We have been profoundly touched by these endorsements," Lai said, praising the Pacific island nation's firm support as "courageous." Lai's remarks came as Taiwan was excluded for the ninth consecutive year from the WHA, which is being held in
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
At least three people died and more than a dozen were injured yesterday afternoon when a vehicle struck a group of pedestrians in New Taipei City’s Sansia District (三峽). The incident happened at about 4pm when a car rammed into pedestrians at an intersection near Bei Da Elementary School. Witnesses said the sedan, being driven at a high speed, ran a red light, knocking scooters out of the way and hitting students crossing the road before careening into a median near the intersection of Guocheng and Guoguang streets. The incident resulted in three deaths and 13 injuries, including the driver, a 78-year-old man
RSS