Taipei, Oct. 16 (CNA) President Tsai Ing-wen (蔡英文) said Monday that Japanese partners will participate in the Taiwanese government's Official Development Assistance (ODA) plan to develop large infrastructure and investment projects in countries with which Taiwan has diplomatic ties and those that are involved in the country's New Southbound Policy.

Speaking with a delegation of visiting Thailand-based Taiwanese businessmen, Tsai encouraged them to take part in the government's plan for public infrastructure and large development projects in Thailand, one of the 18 countries involved in her administration's New Southbound Policy.

The ODA plan, in which Japanese partners have expressed interest, seeks to support local industries and Taiwanese industries abroad, according to the president.

She said these projects will allow all parties involved -- Taiwan, Taiwanese businesses abroad, and the countries where the development projects will take place -- to benefit.

Tsai particularly thanked Chang Wei-pin (章維斌), chairman of Power Fast Construction Co., who has volunteered to be a liaison for Taiwanese businesses to gauge the demands of the Southeast Asian market.

The president asked members of the delegation to invest in Taiwan as well as to help Taiwanese businesses expand into the Southeast Asian market.

Tsai said that the delegation members, most of whom are managers of manufacturing businesses, can take advantage of Taiwan's smart machinery to promote smart production in Thailand.

This will help transform and grow Taiwan's economy while providing businesses opportunities for the firms represented by the delegation, she noted. (Yeh Su-ping and Kuan-lin Liu) 

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