Secretariat, Taipei City Government

Official Visit by Deputy Mayor Staf Depla of Eindhoven City, Netherlands

The seven-strong delegation made an official visit to Mayor Ko Wen-je of Taipei City on 14 October this year (2016). Mr. Delpa was invited by the city government to attend the main events of the World Design Capital Taipei 2016.
Mayor Ko began by offering a warm welcome to Deputy Mayor Depla and his fellow delegates on behalf of the citizens of Taipei. He also expressed gratitude for Mr Delpa’s support for the World Design Capital Taipei 2016. Mayor Ko strongly believes that the Netherlands provide an ideal model for Taipei to emulate, and he announced plans for an official visit to the Netherlands in the coming year. He hopes to discuss important topics such as democratization, smart city, industrial transformation and healthcare issues arising from an aging population.
Mr Delpa expressed his pleasure that Mayor Ko would be visiting the Netherlands next year, and took the opportunity to invite the mayor to come to Eindhoven, which, located near the borders with Germany and Belgium and possessing extremely advanced air and rail networks, would be an ideal starting point from which to visit other European countries. Mr Delpa also expressed his eagerness to demonstrate in person Eindhoven City’s progress in smart lighting, high-tech industry and healthcare-related fields, and stated he was looking forward to further exchanges with Taipei City.
Mr Depla also attended the Taiwan–Netherlands City Innovation Roadshow, co-organized by the Netherlands Trade and Investment office and several local governments in Taiwan. The roadshow toured seven cities around Taiwan on a Dutch DAF eco-friendly truck from 13 to 28 October this year. The objective was to increase opportunities for industrial collaboration by bringing world-famous Dutch corporations to share ideas and solutions on ten major innovative areas, including smart traffic, smart lighting and green energy.