Cabinet to set up 18 Southward Policy platforms

Taiwan News
Date: 2016-10-21
By: Matthew Strong, Taiwan News, Staff Writer

TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The government will set up separate platforms for each of the 18 countries targeted by its “New Southward Policy” and draw up Key Performance Indicators (KPI) for each of them, reports said Friday.

The policy was one of the key elements of President Tsai Ing-wen’s election platform, and has been widely seen as a way of weaning Taiwan’s economy away from its overdependence on rival China.

At a meeting on the subject Friday, Economics Minister Lee Chih-kung reportedly proposed to establish platforms per country to help businesses and investors with their questions regarding those countries. Each country would also form the subject of regular risk assessments, the Cabinet spokesman said.

The “New Southward Policy” targets the ten member nations of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, Australia, New Zealand, and six nations in South Asia, namely, India, Pakistan, Bangla Desh, Sri Lanka, Nepal and Bhutan.     [FULL  STORY]