CHENNAI: Marking the 30th anniversary of the Taiwan–India partnership, the Taipei Economic and Cultural Centre in Chennai hosted the 114th National Day Reception here on Thursday.

The event saw the enthusiastic participation of overseas Taiwanese and business representatives from southern India, as well as senior local officials and Members of Parliament from Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, according to an official release on Friday.

In his remarks, Director-General Stephen Hsu noted, “Taiwanese investment in India has doubled in the past eight years, while the number of Taiwanese enterprises has tripled – especially with significant growth in southern India.”

A press note from the consulate stated that he had also highlighted that bilateral trade increased by 15 per cent from January to August this year compared to the same period last year, underscoring the dynamic nature of Taiwan–India economic relations.

“DG Hsu also emphasised the remarkable progress in educational exchanges between Taiwan and India, as more Indian students have been awarded Taiwan scholarships to pursue higher education in Taiwan, many of whom have inspiring success stories. He cited Chief Minister Stalin’s post on ‘X’, which shared the touching story of a girl from a remote village who, after receiving a scholarship from Taiwan’s Ministry of Education, travelled to Taiwan to study mechanical engineering,” the release added.

State IT Minister Palanivel Thiaga Rajan, MPs Kalanidhi Veeraswamy and Lavu Sri Krishna Devarayalu (Andhra Pradesh), and MLA Dr Ezhilan Naganathan were among the participants.