Kaohsiung Mayor Chen Chu and her counterpart from Panama City, Jose Blandon, signed an agreement forging sister city ties between the two cities. The pact was signed on Monday in Kaohsiung.
Panama City became Kaoshiung’s 29th sister city. Chen announced that the two cities will boost cooperation in the areas of culture and trade.
Chen said Panama is an important ally of Taiwan in Latin America. Taiwan and Panama share a deep friendship and President Tsai Ing-wen attended the ceremony of the Panama Canal expansion. Mayor Chen hopes in the future the two port cities will help each other promote industrial transformation, port development, finance and cultural innovation.
Meanwhile, Blandon said he hopes both sides will have more trade and culture exchanges in the future. He said he is proud of Taiwanese women who are in politics, including President Tsai and Mayor Chen. Blandon also praised Taiwan’s freedom and democracy.