Jaushieh Joseph Wu
Minister of Foreign Affairs
Republic of China (Taiwan)
January 27, 2022
(As Delivered)
Ladies and gentlemen:
Namaste! Good evening!
I am delighted to attend tonight's reception celebrating the 75th Republic Day of India. I would like to extend my heartfelt congratulations to the government and people of India on this auspicious occasion.
As you may know, I have a special attachment to India, which is why I am always very keen to promote our partnership whenever the opportunity arises.
In recent years, Taiwan and India have expanded cooperation in numerous domains, including trade, education, culture, science and etc. Through growing collaboration, we have seen significant progress. For example, bilateral trade last year reached a remarkable record high of 7.7 billion US dollars, 64 percent higher than 2020. I am confident that under the outstanding leadership of my dear friend Gourang, Taiwan-India relations will only continue to grow.
And I am happy to point out that the growing friendship between Taiwan and India is going to benefit not just our two countries, but everyone around the globe. Last year, against the backdrop of global and regional supply chain restructuring, Prime Minister Modi stated that employing trusted sources, transparency, and time frames are three critical factors for improving global supply chains. As vibrant democracies, Taiwan and India share the universal values of freedom, respect for human rights and the rule of law. By working together with trustworthy, like-minded partners, I have every confidence that our democratic supply chain will provide everyone with a more sustainable and undisrupted lifestyle.
The strong bond between Taiwan and India has really shone during critical times. United in the fight against the COVID-19 pandemic, we have demonstrated that a friend in need is a friend indeed. Moving forward, through our collaboration, I'm sure we will effectively tackle more challenges ahead and contribute to regional peace and stability and the rules-based international order.
In addition, thanks to the joint efforts of the Indian community in Taiwan, Taiwan has received tremendous support and friendship from Indian social media and the general public. We are pleased to see a growing and ever-closer partnership across all domains through people-to-people connections.
I would also like to express my appreciation to the many guests here tonight. Your support and valuable contributions make the precious Taiwan-India partnership stronger every day. With your assistance, I look forward to even closer cooperation and better coordination between our two countries.
In closing, I wish tonight's event a great success and everyone a prosperous and happy year of the Tiger!
Thank you!