TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Kaohsiung City Mayor Chen Chi-mai (陳其邁) signed a sister city agreement with his counterpart from Prishtina, the capital of Kosovo, Friday (March 22).

Mayor Perparim Rama was spending March 18-23 in Taiwan to learn more about smart city development, per CNA. Kaohsiung was the first sister city in Asia for the capital of the Balkans nation.

Chen emphasized the warming relations between Taiwan and several European countries. Taiwan and Kosovo faced similar challenges on the road to democracy and freedom, he said.

Rama said he appreciated the transformation of Kaohsiung from a center of heavy industry to a smart city. He named innovation, creativity, and telecommunications as sectors where Prishtina and Kaohsiung could cooperate.

The south Taiwan city mentioned culture, education, transportation, healthcare, and digital transformation as the fields it was interested in. As an architect, Rama was invited to visit the city’s library and informed about its progress in green and smart architecture.