Secretariat, Taipei City Government

Taipei Mayor Ko Wen-je and Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin celebrated the 10^th anniversary of the establishment of the sister city partnership between their two cities through a video conference on the afternoon of March 26, 2021. Furthermore, they signed an Agreement to Reaffirm Sister City Friendship to strengthen exchanges in the fields of smart cities, pandemic prevention, sanitation, tourism, and culture between the two cities.
 
During the conference, Ko expressed gratitude to Kwon for taking the time to participate in the 2021 Smart City Leaders Summit video conference hosted by Taipei City on March 23. Kwon also expressed his respect for Taipei City’s ranking among the top smart city indicators in the world. During the conference, both mayors expressed concern about the vaccination progress and types of vaccine used in each other’s cities, and expressed hope that the pandemic will soon be over in order for their cities to return to normal. They also invited each other to exchange visits and hoped that the signing of the Agreement to Reaffirm Sister City Friendship would improve the amicable foundation between both cities, extend exchanges and collaboration into more areas, and improve the well-being of citizens of both cities.
 
Moreover, Ko noted the ongoing collaboration and exchanges between the two cities. For example, Taipei City once consulted Daegu City regarding the experience of organizing the Universiade. Kwon also led a delegation in person to attend the opening ceremony of the Taipei 2017 Universiade. Furthermore, Taipei City participated in the Chimaek Festival and World Water Cities Forum organized by Daegu City several times, thus promoting Taipei’s arts and cultural performances as well as publicizing water resource policies. The tourism bureaus of the two cities will sign a Memorandum on Mutual Tourism Promotion and Cooperation this year to jointly promote city tourism.
 
Kwon also responded that both cities had frequent official and private exchanges before the pandemic. With the prolonged pandemic becoming the new norm, he looked forward to more in-depth exchange between both cities in smart city development, tourism, art, and culture in the future. Currently, the two cities mutually post tourism promotion information on each other’s public transportation, in public venues, and on websites, in the hope of their citizens having the opportunity to visit each other after the pandemic ends.
 
Taipei and Daegu became sister cities on November 4, 2010. In celebration of the 10th anniversary of their alliance last year, Kwon originally planned to visit Taiwan but had to reschedule due to the pandemic. The signing of the Agreement to Reaffirm Sister City Friendship through video conferencing demonstrated the importance attached by the two cities to their mutual friendship, and signified hope that both sides will continue to expand municipal exchanges in various fields.