Taiwan and India yesterday signed a new bilateral investment agreement (BIA) and a treaty to mutually recognize respective authorized economic operation (AEO) programs, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said, touting them as major achievements in the government’s New Southbound Policy.
The pacts were inked by Representative to India Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) and India-Taipei Association Director-General Sridharan Madhusudhanan, and witnessed by Minister of Economic Affairs Shen Jong-chin (沈榮津) and Deputy Minister of Finance Wu Tzu-hsin (吳自心) in Taipei.
While Taiwan and India had signed a BIA in 2002, which came into effect in 2005, a new agreement was signed to update it and ensure that Taiwanese businesspeople’s investments in India are treated in line with international standards, ministry Department of East Asian and Pacific Affairs Deputy Director-General Fan Hui-chun (范惠君) told a news conference in Taipei.
Photo: CNA
Given the expanding range of information and communication technology (ICT) investments, the BIA was revised after referencing the latest international investment agreements, Fan said.
“We believe [the new BIA] would help boost bilateral investments and be conducive to Taiwan’s ICT industry’s expansion to India,” Fan said, adding that the agreement includes indirect investments made by Taiwanese businesspeople from places like Vietnam and Singapore.
As the BIA is patterned after international standards, future business disputes will be dealt with by an impartial third party, sparing Taiwanese businesspeople the lengthy process of setting disputes in India’s legal system as they had to in the past, she said.
With regard to the AEO Mutual Recognition Agreement, Fan said that as India is one of Taiwan’s top 20 trading partners, the two nations have signed a customs mutual assistance agreement, a temporary admission pact, or ATA carnet, and an action plan to develop mutual recognition of AEO programs.
“Taiwan and Australia also have an AEO mutual recognition agreement that allows businesses from both sides to enjoy expedited customs clearance, which should help increase their competitiveness,” Fan said.
The signing of the two pacts not only lays a more solid foundation for deeper relations between Taiwan and India, but also opens a new page in trade and economic cooperation, she said.
Three Taiwanese airlines have prohibited passengers from packing Bluetooth earbuds and their charger cases in checked luggage. EVA Air and Uni Air said that Bluetooth earbuds and charger cases are categorized as portable electronic devices, which should be switched off if they are placed in checked luggage based on international aviation safety regulations. They must not be in standby or sleep mode. However, as charging would continue when earbuds are placed in the charger cases, which would contravene international aviation regulations, their cases must be carried as hand luggage, they said. Tigerair Taiwan said that earbud charger cases are equipped
Foreign travelers entering Taiwan on a short layover via Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport are receiving NT$600 gift vouchers from yesterday, the Tourism Administration said, adding that it hopes the incentive would boost tourism consumption at the airport. The program, which allows travelers holding non-Taiwan passports who enter the country during a layover of up to 24 hours to claim a voucher, aims to promote attractions at the airport, the agency said in a statement on Friday. To participate, travelers must sign up on the campaign Web site, the agency said. They can then present their passport and boarding pass for their connecting international
UNILATERAL MOVES: Officials have raised concerns that Beijing could try to exert economic control over Kinmen in a key development plan next year The Civil Aviation Administration (CAA) yesterday said that China has so far failed to provide any information about a new airport expected to open next year that is less than 10km from a Taiwanese airport, raising flight safety concerns. Xiamen Xiangan International Airport is only about 3km at its closest point from the islands in Kinmen County — the scene of on-off fighting during the Cold War — and construction work can be seen and heard clearly from the Taiwan side. In a written statement sent to Reuters, the CAA said that airports close to each other need detailed advanced
UNKNOWN TRAJECTORY: The storm could move in four possible directions, with the fourth option considered the most threatening to Taiwan, meteorologist Lin De-en said A soon-to-be-formed tropical storm east of the Philippines could begin affecting Taiwan on Wednesday next week, the Central Weather Administration (CWA) said yesterday. The storm, to be named Fung-wong (鳳凰), is forecast to approach Taiwan on Tuesday next week and could begin affecting the weather in Taiwan on Wednesday, CWA forecaster Huang En-hung (黃恩鴻) said, adding that its impact might be amplified by the combined effect with the northeast monsoon. As of 2pm yesterday, the system’s center was 2,800km southeast of Oluanbi (鵝鑾鼻). It was moving northwest at 18kph. Meteorologist Lin De-en (林得恩) on Facebook yesterday wrote that the would-be storm is surrounded by
RSS