An Indonesian language version of the New Southbound Policy Portal operated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs was launched Nov. 28 as part of ongoing government efforts to raise regional awareness of the NSP.
 
Featuring in-depth information, news reports and updates, the portal is widely considered an authoritative one-stop shop for latest policy developments. Since launching last year in Chinese and English, it has experienced increased web traffic and played a key role in deepening understanding of the NSP at home and abroad.
 
A key component of President Tsai Ing-wen’s national development strategy, the policy seeks to deepen Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states, six South Asian countries, Australia and New Zealand.
 
Taiwan carries out exchanges across a broad spectrum of areas such as agricultural development, education and trade with Indonesia—the world’s fourth most populous nation, third largest democracy and biggest economy in rapidly growing Southeast Asia.
 
In September, a group of 15 Taiwan university students visited Indonesia as part of the Young Agricultural Ambassadors NSP Exchange Program. They met with local officials; visited farms, produce wholesalers and Taiwan-owned businesses; observed halal certification procedures and Taiwan-backed cooperation projects; and took part in educational and research exchanges with academics and counterparts.
 
The month before, the Ministry of Education in conjunction with nonprofits Taiwan Education Center Indonesia and Ikatan Citra Alumni Taiwan Indonesia Sumatra Utara staged the 2017 Taiwan Higher Education Fairs in the Indonesia cities of Jakarta and Medan, as well as Aceh province. A total 50 Taiwan tertiary institutions participated in the Jakarta and Medan events, while 26 took part in the Aceh fair.
 
During the 2016 academic year, more than 5,000 Indonesian students attended university-level classes in Taiwan, up 14 percent year on year. This makes the archipelago nation the second largest source of international students to Taiwan out of all 18 NSP target countries.
 
According to the latest Ministry of Finance statistics, two-way trade between Taiwan and Indonesia totaled US$7.1 billion for 2016. Indonesia is Taiwan’s 14th largest trading partner, 10th largest source of imports and 16th largest export market. (JSM)

Write to Taiwan Today at ttonline@mofa.gov.tw