After signing the sister city agreement with US City New Orleans on Oct. 25, Tainan City immediately welcomed their first group of guests from the new sister city - President Reynold Verret of Xavier University of Louisiana. President Verret landed in Taiwan on Nov. 10 and visited the Tainan City Government with a delegation from Taiwan’s Ministry of Education. Tainan Deputy Mayor Dr. Chien Tai received the visitors on behalf of the Mayor, Bureau of Education Director-general Cheng Hsin-hui, Department of Information and International Relations Deputy Director-general Lin Chien-hsien as well as National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) Executive Vice President Su Fong-chin, Vice President for International Affairs Wang Hsiao-wen, and International Relations Office of International Affairs Executive Manager Ellen Hsueh were also present to discuss issues related to city development and possible collaborations between the public sector and academia.
Mayor Huang Wei-che remarked that having visitors from New Orleans right after signing the sister city agreement demonstrates the friendship between Tainan and New Orleans is strong. Furthermore, the sister college partnership between Xavier University of Louisiana and NCKU is an actual example of “education collaborations” stated in the signatory cities agreement.
After welcoming President Verret to Tainan, Deputy Mayor Dr. Chien Tai said that he expects fruitful outcomes from the partnership between the two universities. Tai also mentioned that Tainan, while well-known for its delicacies, has also made great progress in technology development in recent years. He wished Verret a pleasant stay in Tainan and invited President Verret and residents of New Orleans to come enjoy the Tainan 400th anniversary events in 2024 and commemorate Tainan’s significant historical moment together.
President Verret expressed that he is impressed by the hospitality of Tainan and believes this will not be his only visit to the city. He mentioned that Tainan and New Orleans share some similarities, such as both cities have coastlines and face severe climate change challenges. Only by exposing students to different domains and cultures can they expand their imaginations and inspire new sustainable city ideas, and the collaborations between Tainan and New Orleans, and Xavier University of Louisiana and National Cheng Kung University will significantly benefit this cause.
National Cheng Kung University Deputy President Su Fong-chin agreed that universities play an important role in city development and looks forward to leveraging the collaboration results to benefit society and city development.
Located in the city of New Orleans, Xavier University of Louisiana is the only historically Black, Catholic university in the US. Tainan and New Orleans signed the sister city agreement online on Oct. 25, 2022, and National Cheng Kung University also signed a bilateral memorandum of cooperation with Xavier University of Louisiana on the same day. During his stay in Tainan, President Verret will visit National Cheng Kung University and take part in its anniversary celebrations, and give a talk at National Tainan Chia-Chi Senior High School.