The winners of the latest Taiwan Excellence Award took center stage at a recent exhibition in the Indonesian capital Jakarta as part of a series of government-organized activities aimed at promoting the country’s world-class products in markets covered by the New Southbound Policy.

The 130 items sporting the brands of 56 Taiwan firms generated enormous interest among visitors during the exhibition’s March 3-5 run at Central Park Mall. Highlights included a notebook featuring curved screen and eye tracking technology by New Taipei City-headquartered Acer Inc., a foldable power scooter by Heartway Medical Products Co. of Taichung City in central Taiwan and a specialized road tire for bicycles by Kenda Tires of Changhua County in central Taiwan.

James C. F. Huang, chairman of exhibition organizer Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA), said March 3 that the Indonesian market is one of the most important for Taiwan going forward. As the largest economy in Southeast Asia with a vibrant and young population, Indonesia deserves special attention, he added.

The New Southbound Policy is a key component of the government’s national development strategy. It seeks to deepen Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, educational, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.

Established in 1992, Taiwan Excellence Award is an initiative of the Ministry of Economic Affairs designed to promote innovative made-in-Taiwan products in the international market. The four categories of the annual award are design, marketing, quality and R&D.

According to TAITRA, it is gearing up to stage 55 MIT promotional events this year in the 18 countries covered by the New Southbound Policy. This includes Taiwan Expo, which runs May 12-14 in Jakarta and showcases Taiwan’s agricultural sector, circular economy, design creativity, health care services, tourist attractions and Taiwan Excellence Award-winning products.

Huang said the events offer consumers the opportunity to experience firsthand the attractiveness and quality of MIT products while further raising the country’s profile as leading-edge manufacturer. The next step is to springboard off this positive experience by building and/or deepening industrial cooperative relationships between Taiwan and countries throughout the region, he added.

MOEA statistics put trade last year between Taiwan and the countries covered by the New Southbound Policy at US$94 billion, or 18.4 percent of the nation’s total. For the same period, Taiwan-Indonesia trade was US$7 billion, with the Southeast Asian nation the country’s 14th largest trading partner. (OC-E)

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