TAIPEI (Taiwan News) — Taiwan NextGen Foundation (NextGen), a Taipei and Chiayi-based think tank, has launched the nation’s first sister school initiative with Lithuania.

The think tank told Taiwan News it held a virtual meeting on Monday (Jan. 17) with faculty from Chiayi County Jhuci Senior High School and Lithuania's Panevezio Minties Gymnasium. Both sides agreed to hold lectures at each other’s schools as well as extracurricular exchanges.

“People of Taiwan and Lithuania are no longer strangers, but it's important we devise frameworks for people-to-people exchanges to enhance the sustainability of our ties,” NextGen CEO Chen Kuan-ting tweeted Monday.

Chen said the idea of establishing sister school ties began via private discussions with Taipei-based Lithuanian businessman Ricardas Sedinkinas, who is an alumnus of Panevezio Minties Gymnasium, and other Lithuanian expats in Taiwan.

Though the meeting did not produce an official agreement, Chen said he expects a memorandum of understanding to be inked by the end of March. This will be a great first step in promoting Taiwan-Lithuania exchanges, he added.