Hundreds of government officials from 37 countries are to participate in next month’s Smart City Summit and Expo to exchange views on topics such as sustainable development and net zero emissions, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.
The events, focusing on the themes digital and green transformation, are to take place from March 19 to 21 at the Nangang Exhibition Center in Taipei and from March 21 to March 23 at the Kaohsiung Exhibition Center.
More than 400 central and local government officials, including 80 mayors or deputy mayors, from 119 cities have been invited to participate, Department of International Cooperation and Economic Affairs Deputy Director Lin Mei-cheng (林美呈) told a news briefing yesterday.
Photo: Screen grab from the Smart City Summit and Expo Web site
In addition, nearly 900 industry representatives of 103 companies, associations or organizations from 32 countries are to take part in the events, she said.
The participants are to learn about Taiwan’s experience in promoting smart city development and exchange views with the nation’s public and private sectors on diverse topics including green energy, sustainable development, smart transportation, medical care and education, she said.
TEXTILE DELEGATION
Separately, the ministry is to form a delegation consisting of representatives from the local textile industry to visit Guatemala next month to explore cooperation opportunities that would benefit both sides, she said.
The visit is part of the ministry’s effort to consolidate Taiwan’s position in the global supply chain, and assist the industrial development of the nation’s diplomatic allies and other partners, she added.
In other news, the International Cooperation and Development Fund (ICDF) has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on agricultural cooperation with the Food and Fertilizer Technology Center for the Asian and Pacific Region, the ministry said yesterday.
The MOU, signed on Monday, aims to promote agricultural cooperation between Taiwan and the Asia-Pacific region through the sharing of Taiwan’s achievements in smart agriculture and talent cultivation, ICDF secretary-general Li Chao-cheng (李朝成) said.
Taiwan first sent agriculture technical missions to Vietnam in 1959 to carry out rice farming projects to assist local production, helping lay the foundation for Vietnam to become a rice exporter, he said.
The ICDF last year established a technical mission in the Philippines to help the Southeast Asian nation improve food production, its environment, and public health and nutrition, he added.
The organization’s cooperation with Paraguay to help develop the local orchid industry has also been fruitful.
The ICDF has been cooperating with the South American ally to develop the local orchid industry since 2015 and introduced a public-private partnership model in 2018 to facilitate trade and improve its marketing, Li said.
Taiwan’s technical mission in Paraguay held a Valentine’s Day sale in San Lorenzo from Feb. 9 to Feb. 16, which attracted more than 1,000 visitors, he said.
Orchid exhibitions are also held annually around Mother’s Day in May and the beginning of spring in September, he said, adding that 7,500 orchids were sold during these periods last year, bringing in about US$25,800 in revenue.
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