A series of seminars on the Indian investment climate have been held over the past weeks with the aim of expanding economic and trade relations between Taiwan and India, according to the report compiled by the Cabinet-level Council for Economic Planning and Development (CEPD).

Customs statistics show that two-way trade between the two countries has continued to grow over the past six years, with Taiwan’s exports to India for the first seven month of this year amounting to US$1.27 billion, and imports from India totaling US$1.10 billion. However, the amount accounts for less than 1 percent of Taiwan’s total foreign trade volume.

As of July this year, Taiwanese manufactures had launched a total of 69 investment projects worth around US$400 million in India, which a CEPD official said demonstrates that there is still ample room to enhance bilateral trade and investment cooperation.

According to the official, India has advantages and disadvantages in terms of investment environment. Its favorable conditions include over 300 million middle-class consumers and the impressive development of its software industry, while the lack of modern infrastructure,low levels of government efficiency and high production costs do not favor investment by foreign manufacturers, the official analyzed.

The government will help Taiwanese entrepreneurs gain a better understanding of India’s various laws and regulations governing foreign investment and overcome barriers so that they can make inroads into that fast-growing market earlier than their foreign counterparts, the official pointed out.

The official further said it is hoped that Taiwan’s annual exports to India will rise 15 percent over the next three years and that the South Asian country will become one of Taiwan’s top 10 trade partners by 2015. Presently, India is Taiwan’s 25th-largest trade partner.

To reach that goal, the official explained, Taiwan will first seek to establish a high-level communication mechanism between the two countries and actively integrate parts of Taiwan’s high-tech industries with India’s software industry.

Taiwan will then step up technological and academic exchanges with India, as well as bilateral cooperation in the sectors of construction, finance, air transportation and agrotechnology, the official said, adding that cooperative strategies will soon be put forward by related government agencies.

Meanwhile, the official said the government will work hard to introduce high-end talent from India, and attract Indian companies to set up footholds in Taiwan.