Secretariat, Taipei City Government

Omer Caspi, the representative of the Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei, with his wife (Galit Caspi) and Tslil Lahav, the head of the Israel Economic and Trade Mission, visited Mayor Ko on July 1, 2020. Both sides exchanged views on topics such as smart transportation and collaboration on education, culture, and innovative technology between Taiwan and Israel. Officials of the Taipei City Government who were invited to attend the meeting included Tom Chou (deputy chairperson of the International Affairs Advisory Council), Shier-Chieg Huang (Commissioner of the Department of Health), Chung-Chieh Lin (Commissioner of the Department of Economic Development), Hsin-Ke Lu (Commissioner of the Department of Information Technology), Gordon Yang (Chief Executive Officer of the International Affairs Advisory Council), Rong-Ming Chen (Deputy Commissioner of the Department of Transportation), and Su-Hui Chen (Chief Secretary of the Department of Education). 

Mayor Ko said that he met with representative Caspi last year when he participated in the International Mayors Conference in Israel, where he learned that representative Caspi was to be stationed in Taipei. In addition, when he visited Mobileye, a high-tech innovation company in Israel, Mayor Ko was very impressed with the company’s autonomous driving technology, which prompted him to actively develop and test autonomous driving buses after returning to Taiwan. Representative Caspi responded positively to this matter and stated that Mobileye has established a special task force to negotiate with Taipei City regarding subsequent collaboration projects.

Representative Caspi noted that his office has been committed to promoting exchanges in education and cultural affairs between Taiwan and Israel. Although the COVID-19 pandemic this year interrupted many visits, this will not hinder bilateral cooperation. The Israel Economic and Cultural Office in Taipei recently signed the Taiwan–Israel 2020–2023 Education, Youth, and Sports Cooperation Agreement with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs to strengthen future collaboration between Taiwan and Israel in relevant fields.

In addition, Mr. Lahav believes that Taipei City is an excellent partner in the field of innovative technology. He hopes to establish an exchange platform that gathers Taipei and Israeli experts to jointly discuss possible future challenges and their solutions by organizing Hackathons and expanding cooperation between the technology industries of Israel and Taipei City.

Mayor Ko expressed gratitude for the visit by representative Caspi and his delegation and looks forward to fruitful collaboration in the future.