The Taiwan Expo 2017 trade show kicked off May 12 at Jakarta Convention Center in Indonesia’s capital city, the latest move in ongoing efforts to connect Taiwan enterprises to New Southbound Policy target nations.

Running in Jakarta until May 14, the event organized by the semi-official Taiwan External Trade Development Council (TAITRA) is being held in Indonesia for the first time, and will move on to Vietnam, the Philippines and Malaysia later this year. The Indonesian edition features around 150 booths by more than 140 exhibitors from Taiwan’s public and private sectors showcasing some 3,500 products and services, according to the Ministry of Economic Affairs, one of the event’s sponsors.

A key plank of the government’s national development strategy, the policy seeks to deepen the nation’s ties with Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand in areas spanning agriculture, business, culture, education, tourism and trade.

Under the theme Where Technology Meets Modern Lifestyle, the multinational expo showcases innovations in realms such as cosmetics and personal care, food and beverages, halal products, home furnishings, information and communication technology and sports. There are seven pavilions at the expo highlighting agriculture, design power, education and careers, green products, health care and tourism as well as Taiwan Excellence Award-winning items, respectively.

The Taiwan Excellence Awards were established in 1992 by the MOEA to honor locally made products of the highest quality.

The Taiwan Expo in Indonesia is taking place alongside a series of Taiwan Week events including business cooperation meetings and forums on such topics as smart life solutions, precision medicine and design capabilities. A running race has also been organized to help promote Taiwan brands.

According to the MOEA, Indonesia is a locomotive of economic development in the region, with its huge domestic market and population of nearly 260 million. The ministry said bilateral trade amounted to approximately US$7 billion last year, making the Southeast Asian nation Taiwan’s 14th largest trading partner.

During the same period, trade between Taiwan and the countries covered by the New Southbound Policy reached US$94 billion, or 18.4 percent of the nation’s total. (KTJ-E)

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