October 12 marked the successful conclusion of the 7th Yushan Forum. This year's forum subject is "Start A New Blueprint for Asian Development." During the opening ceremony, President Tsai Ing-wen gave a speech. She also invited opinion leaders and politicians from the New Southbound nations, as well as the former U.S. Permanent Representative to the to the UN. Scholars and experts gathered to talk on the connections and shared growth between Taiwan's "New Southbound Policy" and other nations' "Indo-Pacific Policies."
The President of the Republic of Nauru, Russ Joseph Kun; Chairman of the Japan-ROC Diet Members' Consultative Council, Furuya Keiji; Former Australian Prime Minister, Scott Morrison; Former U.S. Permanent Representative to the United Nations, Kelly Craft; and Opinion Leaders from Malaysia, Thailand, India, New Zealand, and Other Countries were among the guests invited to this year's Yushan Forum to discuss the blueprint for the development of Asia.
The 7th Yushan Forum brings together political leaders from different nations to debate the new growth strategy for Asia.Photo reproduced from New Southbound Policy Portal official website
The Yushan Forum has developed into a crucial discussion forum for the New Southbound Policy, according to President Tsai Ing-wen's opening remarks. Taiwan and the New Southbound partner nations have achieved unprecedented tight economic connections after more than seven years of hard work. The entire amount of commerce and exports between Taiwan and the New Southbound nations has reached record highs of US$96.9 billion and US$180 billion, respectively, in 2022.
With 339 branches and offices, Taiwan's banks are vigorously growing their service base in the New Southbound nations. Taiwan has also set up ten medical facilities in seven ASEAN nations to provide healthcare services. In terms of tourism, 84% of all visitors to Taiwan between January and July of this year were from New Southbound nations, with almost 2.73 million of them coming from these countries. Since 2016, more than 200,000 students from New Southbound nations, including Vietnam, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, and India, have registered in colleges and universities.
Furthermore, President Tsai Ing-wen stated that Taiwan is one of the answers to problems in the area. Taiwan is committed to fostering stronger ties with nations that share its values and those that are New Southbound in order to maintain stability and development in the Indo-Pacific area.
