Representatives of Nordic Nations Visit City Hall
A delegation consisting of Director Bo Monsted of the Trade Council of Denmark in Taipei, Representative Mikko Karppinen of the Finland Trade Center in Taiwan, and Representative Bengt G. Carlsson of the Swedish Trade and Investment Council in Taiwan arrived at Taipei City Hall to meet with Mayor Ko Wen-je on November 22.
During his address, Mayor Ko welcomed the guests and noted that the Nordic countries have a long history of collaboration with the city government in areas such as renewable energy, aging society, electric buses, energy efficiency, water resource management, and waste processing. As Nordic countries lead the world in these areas, Taipei City Government hopes to learn more from them through the partnerships and projects.
Having firsthand experience on local quarantine process upon his arrival, the Danish representative mentioned Taipei’s pandemic prevention measures and said he is impressed by system of quarantine hotels and required PCR tests. The policy strengthened his confidence in Taipei’s ability in controlling the spread of COVID-19.
Representative Carlsson remarked that Finland’s outstanding performance on the happiness index is closely related to its successful implementation sustainable development goals, and it is more than happy to share its experience with Taipei.
According to Representative Karppinen of the Swedish Office, the city government has done a good job in improving air quality through its green transportation policies. He touted his nation’s experience with electric buses and believes that the knowhow will serve as important references for Taipei.
Mayor Ko mentioned that the city government will release the second edition of its white papers on post pandemic era industry transition in January of 2022. He also talked about Taipei’s efforts to achieve net zero by 2050. Commissioner of Economic Development Lin Chung-chieh added that the city government will organize an international conference on energy policies and invites the Scandinavian representatives to attend the event.