Deputy Mayor Liu Ho-jan leads the New Taipei delegation at the IURC Taiwan launch ceremony.

New Taipei City Deputy Mayor Liu Ho-jan led a delegation from the New Taipei City Government on the morning of September 5th to the European Economic and Trade Office to attend the launch ceremony for Taiwan joining the International Urban and Regional Cooperation (IURC) programme. Deputy Mayor Liu shared that European cities are global leaders in green transportation, circular economy, and climate adaptation. He also expressed hopes to learn from the invaluable experiences of EU cities, deepen exchanges, and work together to fulfill the vision of New Taipei City as a sustainable city offering a high quality of life.
 
The IURC programme, initiated and implemented by the European Union, promotes cooperation between EU and non-EU countries across a wide range of issues through thematic workshops, online conferences, reciprocal visits, and field studies. New Taipei City and Kaohsiung City were both invited to join the second phase of the programme this year.


Secretariat staff introduce New Taipei's sustainability initiatives.


Deputy Mayor Liu (second from left) with Head of Office Lutz Güllner (first from right), IURC Team Leader Pablo Gándara, and Kaohsiung Deputy Mayor Lo Ta-sheng (second from right).

In his remarks, Deputy Mayor Liu highlighted that Mayor Hou Yu-ih's very first overseas trip after assuming office was to Northern Europe, and that he is currently in Europe studying long-term care, sustainable urban development, and age-friendly sports environments to apply European insights to New Taipei City. Liu also shared his own experience representing the city at an ICLEI (Local Governments for Sustainability) conference, where he exchanged views with European cities on New Taipei's progress in climate adaptation and net-zero resilience. He thanked the EU for inviting New Taipei to join the IURC and said he looks forward to building partnerships with more European cities through this platform.
 
Lutz Güllner, Head of the European Economic and Trade Office in Taiwan, remarked that the EU places great importance on city-to-city exchanges. He expressed excitement for the opportunity to strengthen exchanges between the EU and New Taipei City with the IURC programme and hopes for broader cooperation with Taiwan's cities across more fields in the future.
 

Secretariat gives IURC Team Leader Pablo Gándara a tour of the iRoad Smart Cloud Road Information Center.

At the launch, the Secretariat delivered a presentation outlining New Taipei's achievements and challenges in the areas of transportation, circular economy, and climate adaptation. Following the event, Pablo Gándara, IURC Team Leader, who had traveled from Europe for the occasion, visited the New Taipei City Government to tour the iRoad Smart Cloud Road Information Center, the Smart Energy Management Center, and the gender equality hub. He commended the city's strong efforts in advancing smart governance.