Taipei Summit 2009 to focus on photovoltaic development

TAIPEI, TAIWAN: Taipei Summit has been held for four consecutive years. Each year a specific topic is discussed with government officials and industry leaders from different Asia Pacific countries taking part in the event. It has become the most important platform for Taiwan and other Asia Pacific countries to interact and enhance mutual economic, trade, and diplomatic relationships.

Director General Chih Peng Huang of the Bureau of Foreign Trade (BOFT), Ministry of Economic Affairs (MOEA) said that the guests this year could very well represent the ASEAN region.

Among the invited dignitaries include Undersecretary Fortunato Dela Pena from the Dept. of Science and Technology, Philippines; Vice Minister Sorayut Phettakul from the Ministry of Industry, Thailand; and Vice President Took Gee Loo from the Ministry of Energy, Green Technology and Water in Malaysia.

They will be joined by some 20 government officials, along with over 80 representatives from different ASEAN industry associations. The enthusiastic response to the event shows that the ASEAN countries place significant value on the role of Taiwan as an economic partner.

Taipei Summit not only serves as a vital platform for Taiwan and ASEAN member countries to interact with each other, it also provides an opportunity for integration. According to the Director General, there will be several bilateral talks for deputy director generals to be held simultaneously. Taiwan hopes to achieve greater cooperation with the ASEAN countries through these discussions.

Focus on PV
The focus of this year’s summit will be on photovoltaic development. Incidentally, PV Taiwan, a major exhibition event of its kind in Asia, is slated for a two-day run on Oct.7-8 at TICC Rm. 201.

Last March, the Executive Yuan came up with a number of development strategies for six key emerging industries, including tourism, medicine and health care, biotechnology, green energy, culture and creation, and high-end agriculture.

The goal is to enhance industrial competitiveness and find solutions to the export problems the industry faces in a time of sluggish growth. Among the six industry sectors, green energy holds the key to turn Taiwan into a low carbon economy.

The MOEA has proposed the “Dawning Green Energy Industry” program last April, targeting the PV industry as one of the major sectors to provide green energy sources.

Taiwan’s PV sector is built on solid foundation and possesses unlimited potential. Thus, the Summit will highlight the PV industry in the hope of enhancing collaboration among Asia Pacific governments, business leaders and researchers, as well as accelerating the development of renewable energy, lowering dependence on oil, and cutting down on CO2 emissions.

The impact of ASEAN economic and trade integration is not limited to free trade. Areas such as banking and finance, logistics, supply chain and human resource are also worth looking into.

Since Taiwan shares the same language with Mainland China and a significant number of Taiwanese companies have production operations in many parts of Southeast Asia as well as China, Taiwan enjoys the edge in the ASEAN plus one market. Such business conglomerates as Foxconn, Compal Electronics, and Formosa have already invested in Vietnam to take advantage of the business opportunities there following the implementation of the ASEAN plus one agreement.

Director General Huang also pointed out that in order to assist Taiwan businesses in coping with the current global financial crisis, the programs of the BOFT this year are focused more on the emerging markets, especially those in Southeast Asia.

So far, the BOFT have organized 11 Taiwan delegations to participate in different local exhibitions held in Southeast Asia, such as INTERNACH in Thailand, V.I. Trade EXPO in Vietnam, Machine Tool & Manufacturing Indonesia, etc.. The Taiwanese delegates were able to corner $36.86 million dollars worth of orders from these events.

Taipei Summit serves as a platform for global interaction and collaboration. This event also stresses Taiwan as an active economic partner with different Asia Pacific countries. Director General Huang reiterates that the goal is to expand business opportunities through integration with the Asia Pacific Region.

This event aims to lower the impact of the ASEAN plus one market and to help expand Taiwan’s PV industry in the region.