Last year’s New Southbound Policy Elite Study Program ended with a ceremony Jan. 7 in Taipei City, underscoring the government’s commitment to strengthening mutual understanding and people-to-people connections with NSP target countries.
Organized by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, the year’s program enabled over a hundred participants from Australia, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar, Nepal, New Zealand, Pakistan, Thailand, Vietnam and the Philippines to gain insight into agriculture, climate governance, cross-strait studies, medicine and semiconductors in Taiwan.
Speaking at the event, MOFA Minister Lin Chia-lung expressed his gratitude to the five universities that hosted the students, including Taipei Medical University, National Taipei University of Technology, National Chung Hsing University in the central city of Taichung, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology in the south, and National Quemoy University in the outlying county of Kinmen.
The minister looked forward to the advancement of relations with NSP countries through the promotion of initiatives including new energy and carbon rights cooperation, smart agriculture and medicine under the framework of integrated diplomacy.
Lin added that the ministry is planning a project that allows young people from allied nations to fulfill their dreams in Taiwan while also increasing Taiwan Scholarships for international students.
Five students who received the Minister's Award for their outstanding academic performance praised the superb quality of Taiwan’s tertiary education and recommended the ESP experience to peers from NSP nations.
A key plank in the government’s national development strategy, the NSP seeks to deepen Taiwan’s agricultural, business, cultural, education, tourism and trade ties with Australia, New Zealand, six South Asian countries and the 10 Association of Southeast Asian Nations member states. (POC-E)
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