Taiwan’s Smart City Summit: Obaseki, Leaders From France, UK, Showcase Digital Responses To Pandemic Era

The Edo State Governor, Mr. Godwin Obaseki, will on Tuesday, March 22, 2022, join leaders from France, the United Kingdom, Poland, Belgium, Malaysia, Czech Republic, Lithuania and Taiwan to showcase efforts in the digital transformation of their cities at the annual Smart City Mayors’ Summit in Taipei, Taiwan.The summit is a global platform for mayors and city leaders from around the world, who are usually selected to share their experiences in modernizing their infrastructure using digital technology to ultimately transform their societies into smart cities.

Governor Obaseki is the only African selected to speak at the summit and Edo was chosen based on the recommendations of innovative leaders from the United States of America and Japan.

The Governor will be highlighting Edo State as the cultural capital of Africa with her huge ecotourism assets, thousands of unique artifacts, namely; bronze and woodworks that will be exhibited in the digital museum being undertaken by the Obaseki-led government.

He will also be speaking on the impact of the Edo Technology Park and the huge investment the State has made in bringing highly sought after digital skills to the doorsteps of thousands of Edo youths.

Other projects that the Governor will parade at the Smart City Mayors’ Summit include the anticipated gains of the Benin River Port project, the 30-acre Medical District and the emerging smart city in the State on the back of the massive fiber optic cables laid across major towns as part of the State government’s digital response to the ‘new normal’ occasioned by the Covid-19 pandemic.

Obaseki will take participants through the Edo State 30-year Development Plan and some of the strategies to achieve the plan, including development of more hubs for economic transformation and up-scaling the technology ecosystem.

The huge investment in the transport sector, according to the State government, was informed by the fact that Edo State serves as a transport hub and a gateway to many other States of Nigeria makes it the centre for trade, commerce and industry.