Secretariat, Taipei City Government

The Taipei City Government held the “2026 Taipei International Cities Forum” in the morning on March 19, 2026, at the Far Eastern Shangri-La Hotel. The forum brought a total of approximately 150 attendees, including leaders and delegations from Taipei’s sister cities and international friendly cities, as well as diplomatic corps, government officials, representatives from industries and academia in Taiwan. Before the forum, Taipei and Dresden—known as “Silicon Saxony”—signed a strategic cooperation MoU, with the mayors of both cities endorsing multiple forward-looking areas of collaboration.

The theme of this year’s forum is “AI × Future Cities: Smarter Governance, Greener Future.” The forum was led by Mayor of Taipei Wan-An Chiang and featured five international city leaders: Mayor Pablo Cawich of Belmopan, capital of Belize, one of Taiwan’s diplomatic allies; Mayor Dirk Hilbert of Dresden, Germany; Mayor Alex Yam of North West District, Singapore; Mayor Pro Tem Jesse Moreno of Dallas, USA; and Deputy Mayor Dilpreet Sidhu of Los Angeles, USA. 

One of the highlights of the forum is that prior to the forum, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) was signed between Taipei City and the City of Dresden by Mayor Chiang and Mayor Hilbert. The MoU outlines cooperation in key areas including technological innovation, smart city governance, talent cultivation, youth development, and tourism promotion.

Dresden, the capital of Saxony, Germany, is home to Europe’s largest semiconductor cluster and is widely known as “Silicon Saxony.” It is also the site of TSMC’s first wafer fabrication plant in Europe, making it a major hub for high-tech industry and culture, as well as a key gateway for Taiwan’s semiconductor expansion into Europe. Taipei City has been actively advancing its AI development strategy. In addition to successfully securing the establishment of NVIDIA’s first overseas headquarters this year, Taipei also launched a direct flight route with its sister city Phoenix—known as the “Silicon Desert”—at the end of last year. This strategic cooperation MoU with Dresden, “Silicon Saxony,” will further strengthen Taipei’s pivotal role in the global AI landscape and accelerate its vision of becoming a “Global AI Powerhouse.”

In addition, Taipei City has been proactively expanding its international strategic partnerships in recent years. Since Mayor Wan-An Chiang took office, Taipei has signed memoranda of understanding with seven cities, including Kyiv (Ukraine), Hamamatsu, Kasama, and Shizuoka (Japan) in 2023; Guatemala City (Guatemala) in 2024; Bratislava Old Town (Slovakia) in 2025; and Dresden (Germany) in 2026. These efforts demonstrate Taipei’s continued commitment to deepening diverse international linkages and expanding its global network of city-to-city cooperation.

During the forum, Mayor Chiang delivered a keynote presentation titled “Taipei: The Rise of a Global AI Powerhouse.” Together, he and the other city leaders shared insights on smart governance and discussed how cities can balance innovation with human-centered values in the digital era to build more resilient, intelligent, and sustainable urban systems. In response to the dual main issues of AI development and sustainability, the forum also invited two moderators: Ms. Jaclyn Tsai, former Minister without Portfolio of the Executive Yuan and current Advisor of Taipei City Government, and Professor Yuh-Ming Lee of the Graduate Institute of Natural Resources and Environmental Management, National Taipei University.

Following the forum, the Taipei City Government hosted a “Business Exchange Luncheon”, chaired by Deputy Mayor Wen-Te Chang. In addition to those distinguished guests from the forum, the representatives from major international chambers of commerce and multinational corporations in Taiwan were also invited. Commissioner Chun-An Chen of the Department of Economic Development also made a presentation on Taipei’s investment environment. The luncheon provided a platform to foster meaningful dialogue between city governance and industry development, strengthening collaboration between the public and private sectors.

The Taipei City Government first launched the International Cities Forum in May 2025, ahead of the World Masters Games. The second edition was held in March this year, in conjunction with the “2026 Smart City Summit & Expo” which took place on March 17–18. To further promote the Taipei International Cities Forum as a flagship platform, the Taipei City Government will continue to strive for international engagement and bring together leaders from Taipei’s sister cities and international friendly cities to exchange insights on urban governance and enhance the impact of inter-city cooperation.