TAIPEI: After an 11-year hiatus, Taiwan will sponsor the 2009 annual meeting of 500 experts of the International Urban Development Association (INTA) in October.

Local organizers want the gathering to serve as a showcase for Taiwan's progress in the field.

Hsu Wen-long, deputy director of the Construction and Planning Administration, said it will be the second time Taiwan has hosted the international conference.

Taiwan is one of the founding members of the INTA, which is recognized by the United Nations and provides a platform upon which members conduct exchanges, work out strategies and forge solutions to serve sustainable urban growth and shape urban innovation of the future. Members include city leaders and other officials from all over the world.

The 33rd INTA conference will be held in southern Taiwan's Kaohsiung city Oct 4-6. It will then move to Taipei city Oct 7-8, with both events featuring themes revolving around "innovation, city, environment".

Apart from the meetings in Kaohsiung and Taipei, warm-up activities have also been organized in central Taiwan's Taichung and Tainan cities in the south, Hsu continued.

An international forum on urban re-development and municipal administration just wrapped up on July 3 in Tainan city, while a city development forum is slated for Taichung city between Sept 28 and Oct 1, he added.

INTA President Budiarsa Sastrawinata and Secretary-General Michael Sudarskis noted that over the past 30 years, Taiwan has transformed from a manufacturing base into a hub of innovation and invention. They took particular note of Taiwan's achievements in its information and biotechnology industries, its wireless, metro and high speed railway systems.

China Daily/CNA

(HK Edition 07/07/2009 page2)