TAIPEI (Taiwan News) – The Taiwanese delegation at the January 16-18 Raisina Dialogue in New Delhi is calling for closer relations between the island nation and India.

The Raisina Dialogue is an annual conference whose third edition is devoted to the subject “Managing Disruptive Transitions: Ideas, Institutions and Idioms.” The event, which is co-sponsored by the Indian government, was opened by Prime Minister Narendra Modi and by his colleague from Israel, Benjamin Netanyahu.

Taiwan is represented by former Foreign Minister Chen Tang-sun (陳唐山) in his capacity as chairman of the Prospect Foundation (遠景基金會) and by Democratic Progressive Party lawmaker Hsiao Bikhim (蕭美琴).

They said Taiwan should be even more active in participating in the event and strengthen its understanding of and exchanges with India, the China Times reported.

Chen told the Central News Agency that in a strategic environment showing the deepest changes since World War II, India was playing a more and more important role.

Following repeated remarks by United States President Donald Trump about the “Indo-Pacific,” the region was gaining importance and influence, with Hsiao emphasizing that Taiwan could not afford to remain outside the reach of regional cooperation.