Secretariat, Taipei City Government

Taipei City Mayor Wan-An Chiang attended the Sweden Days event hosted by the Swedish Trade & Invest Council on May 23. During the event, Council representative Helena Reitberger presented Mayor Chiang with a fresh flower crown, and the two posed for photographs to celebrate the return of the event after a 7-year hiatus. Mayor Chiang expressed his hope for the continued expansion of cooperation between Taiwan and Sweden across various sectors, including trade, talent cultivation, education, and culture.

In his remarks, Mayor Chiang explained that Swedish influences have become deeply integrated into the daily lives of people in Taiwan. From brands such as IKEA and H&M to telecommunications equipment provider Ericsson, automobile manufacturer Volvo, and digital entertainment platforms such as Spotify and Minecraft, Sweden has demonstrated remarkable strength in innovation and cultural export. He added that Sweden has long been recognized as a leading innovation-driven country, and Taiwan looks forward to pursuing even closer cooperation with Sweden.

Mayor Chiang also mentioned that Taiwan and Sweden had concluded a bilateral dialogue this week that promoted economic and trade exchanges between the two parties. He highlighted several examples of cooperation between Taipei and Sweden, including an educational exchange program in which 16 high school students, including students from Taipei Municipal Zhong Zheng Senior High School, visited Sweden to learn about local waste recycling systems and biomass energy conversion technologies. The experience offered valuable insights for Taiwan’s environmental and energy governance efforts. In addition, he noted that Sweden was recently ranked as the world’s second most liberal democracy. He expressed his hope that Taiwan and Sweden, as democratic partners, can continue to deepen cooperation on the basis of their shared democratic values.

In closing, Mayor Chiang thanked the Swedish Trade & Invest Council for its efforts in bringing back the Sweden Days event this year and expressed his hope that the celebration can be held on a grand scale every year in the future. He wished the event great success and extended his appreciation to all distinguished guests in attendance.