RP, Taiwan ink MOA on IT education, training

The Philippines and Taiwan have agreed to forge closer cooperation in information technology (IT) with the signing of a memorandum of understanding on IT education and training, software development, exchange of information, promotion of trade and investment in the electronics industry and development of other IT-related industries.

The signing of the MOU coincided with the first Philippines-Taiwan High Tech Forum held recently in Taipei.

Taiwan President Chen Shui-Ban, in his keynote address at the opening of the forum, noted that the Philippines has become the springboard of Taiwan’s "going south" policy.

Chen assured that Taiwan’s information industry would be pleased to share its more than 20 years of experience in industry development with the Philippines.

Taiwan Minister of Economic Affairs Lin Yi-Fu, who was also present during the signing, said the MOU marks a new chapter of cooperation between the Philippines and Taiwan.

Lin expressed hope that closer economic relations between the two countries would promote trade policy alliances and cooperative supply chains would ensure.

Lin added that the Philippines’ 80 million Filipinos would provide a large market and offer an entry point to the Southeast Asian market.

The signatories to the MOU include representatives of the Philippine-Chinese Business Council (PCBC), the Philippine Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PCCI), the Chinese-Philippines Business Council (CPBC), Taiwan’s Institute for Information Industry (III), the Semiconductor and Electronics Industry of the Philippines, Inc. (SEIPI) and the Computer Manufacturers, Distributors Dealers Association of the Philippines (COMDDAP).

Philippine officials, led by Trade Undersecretary Thomas Aquino, welcomed the agreement.

Taiwan is ranked as the fourth largest producer of information industry hardware with significant shares in the world market for notebook computers, LAN switches, wireless LAN, cable modems, personal digital assistance (PDAs) and recordable compact and digital video disks.