TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — A delegation from the cross-party Taiwan caucus at Indonesia’s House of Representatives met with President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文), reports said Thursday (Oct. 27).

After Tsai was elected for a first term in 2016, she launched Taiwan’s New Southbound Policy, targeting 18 nations, including Indonesia, for closer relations in a range of fields, from trade and investment to culture and education.

The president noted that since the start of the policy, Taiwan and Indonesia have signed 20 memorandums of understanding (MOUs). Indonesia has also become the second-largest source of foreign students in Taiwan, while more than 240,000 workers from the Southeast Asian nation are employed in the country. Bilateral trade reached US$11.3 billion (NT$362.39 billion) in 2021, she added.

Tsai met delegation leaders Mardani Ali Sera of the Prosperous Justice Party (PKS), his spouse Siti Oniah Warid, and Asep Maoshul Affandy of the United Development Party (PPP) Tuesday (Oct. 25), CNA reported. The president said their visit was significant because it was the first from Indonesia’s legislature since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic and because it featured members of different political parties.

Both sides expressed the wish to deepen bilateral and international cooperation, with the Indonesian lawmakers voicing the hope more students, fishermen, and farmworkers could receive training in Taiwan to upgrade their skills.