Myron Jackson Part Of Delegation In Taiwan For Smart City Expo

Senate President Myron Jackson is part of a delegation of Virgin Islands public and private sector leaders who traveled Taiwan last week to participate in the Taipei Smart City Summit & Expo 2018, in hopes of establishing business connections to transform the territory’s technological resilience, Mr. Jackson’s office made known via release.

The annual summit highlights Taiwan’s world-leading expertise in intelligent urban solutions and trends.

“The opportunity and exchange in technology and science offers many possibilities for the Virgin Islands, especially at this time in our redevelopment,” Mr. Jackson said. “Business and government officials will echo to this forum that the Virgin Islands is open for telecommunications business and smart growth options in our rebuilding which will provide many options for economic development.”

The delegation is spearheaded led by Anthony Weeks, managing director of St. Croix Economic Development Initiatives, a macroeconomic and public policy think-tank involved in economic, business, and project development, according to the release.

The trip comes as a follow-up to a visit to the Virgin Islands in January from a Taiwanese delegation led by Philip T.Y. Wang, director general of the Miami-based Taipei Economic and Cultural Office seeking business, commerce and cultural opportunities in the territory. The group also donated $20,000 to the government for toward hurricane recovery efforts. Wang extended an invitation to the summit this year.

At the Taipei summit, the goal is to seek out opportunities for smart approaches in rebuilding the infrastructure, transportation, schools, housing, and hospitals among other areas in the Virgin Islands with technology at the center, while ultimately creating a digital economy, according to the release.

“It’s a total revamping of how our infrastructure is built and laid out,” Weeks said. “By integrating smart city technology into our rebuilding, we’ll be stronger, more resilient, and we’ll be in a better position to attract and create a more viable technology industry.”

Weeks, who produces a radio show for 970AM on WSTX plans to broadcast the delegation live from Taiwan on his program, “The Economic Roundtable and the Marketplace” this Monday, March 26, from 12:30 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. Listeners can visit www.kalalloo.com and click on WSTX.