India Taipei Association Director-General Manharsinh Yadav on Monday expressed hope that Taiwan and India can leverage their strengths through a bilateral partnership to drive growth in the artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor industries.
Speaking at a banquet in Taipei to mark India’s 76th Republic Day, Yadav recounted the two countries’ achievements over the past year through independent endeavors or partnerships, especially those in the technology industry.
One such achievement was the groundbreaking ceremony at a landmark 12-inch wafer fabrication plant in Dholera by India’s Tata Electronics and Hsinchu City’s Powerchip Semiconductor Manufacturing Corp attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Yadav said, apparently referring to Modi’s pre-recorded speech shown at the event.
Photo: CNA
The Indian diplomat also drew attention to India’s growing economic clout and rising position in the chipmaking industry, saying that his country posted economic growth rates of 6 to 8 percent over the past few years and last year became the fifth-largest economy in the world.
In addition, Semicon India featured the largest gathering of CEOs and business leaders from the semiconductor manufacturing industry, he said.
Most semiconductor design houses have established large facilities in India, all of which announced expansions in the past year, he added.
Yadav also said that the AI revolution “aligns with our [Taiwan’s and India’s] strengths.”
“With India’s exceptional talent in software, design capabilities and the vital ingredient for AI — data — we are well-positioned to leapfrog in this sector,” he said, expressing hope that the Taiwan-India partnership would play a significant role as Taiwan pursues President William Lai’s (賴清德) vision of becoming an “AI island.”
Taiwan and India are known for fighting against all odds, which was evident in Taiwan’s World Baseball Softball Confederation Premier12 win last year and India’s victory at the Men’s Twenty20 Cricket World Cup last year, Yadav said.
“The future might be filled with uncertainties, but in the evolving geo-economic equation, among many complex variables, Taiwan can rely on one constant and that is its partnership with India,” he said.
“India shall always ‘chip in’ with Taiwan and we can rely on our supply chain partnership whenever the ‘chips are down,’” Yadav said.
Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Tien Chung-kwang (田中光) said that bilateral ties have grown stronger as the two sides mark the 30th anniversary of the mutual establishment of representative offices this year.
Bilateral trade has grown tremendously over the past 30 years, with more than 260 Taiwanese companies operating in India, while educational and cultural exchanges have also flourished, Tien said.
“As the Taiwan-India friendship deepens, I am confident that future bilateral cooperation and exchanges will be even more fruitful,” he said.
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