'Overcoming COVID-19': Heads of Diplomatic Missions in Daegu Visit One After Another

Ambassadors to South Korea from the US, France, Poland, and Zambia Make Successive Visits

Mayor Kwon Young-jin meeting and conversing with Harris, the U.S. Ambassador, who visited Daegu City on the 24th.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongwook Park] Heads of foreign diplomatic missions in Korea, who are interested in various fields such as COVID-19 quarantine know-how, economy, industry, and culture, and hope to expand exchanges, are visiting Daegu one after another.

According to Daegu City, while many countries around the world are still going through difficult times due to COVID-19, the interest of foreign diplomatic missions in Korea in Daegu, which experienced COVID-19 first and is showing signs of stabilization, is heating up.

On the 28th, according to Daegu City, Philippe Lefort, the French Ambassador to Korea who played an active bridging role in establishing friendly cooperation between Daegu City and Lille Metropole in France last November, will visit Daegu on the 29th along with economic experts including David Pierre Jallicon, chairman of the Korea-France Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

They plan to meet with Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin to exchange opinions on key industries of Daegu such as smart city and future cars, and tour related sites. In particular, the French ambassador will visit Suseong Alpha City, a future-oriented city being developed as an advanced smart city, to receive detailed explanations on Daegu’s smart city operations and future transportation status using autonomous shuttles, and will also personally ride the shuttle bus.

Earlier, on the 24th, Harry Harris, the U.S. Ambassador to Korea, visited Daegu and exchanged views with Mayor Kwon Young-jin on the secrets and experiences of overcoming the COVID-19 crisis. He also visited Dongsan Hospital, which served as a dedicated COVID-19 hospital, to encourage medical staff, and threw the ceremonial first pitch at the Samsung Lions vs. Hanwha Eagles game held at Lions Park that day.

On the 23rd, Piotr Ostachewski, the Polish Ambassador to Korea, participated in the Decalogue exhibition held at Daegu Dongsung Art Hall, introducing Polish culture to Daegu citizens tired from COVID-19 and spending a healing time together. The film Decalogue is a work by Polish director Krzysztof Kie?lowski.

In addition, on the 30th, Wilbur Chisiya Simusa, the Zambian Ambassador to Korea, and his delegation will visit to propose exchanges between Livingstone, Zambia, and Daegu City, and on the 2nd of next month, Mohamed Hassan Elhaiky, the Qatari Ambassador to Korea, will visit Daegu to discuss mutual cooperation plans related to participation in the 2021 World Gas Conference to be held at Daegu EXCO next year.

Daegu Mayor Kwon Young-jin said, "Although we have experienced many difficulties due to COVID-19, since the citizens united and overcame it well and have entered a stable phase, it seems that foreign diplomatic missions are very interested in Daegu’s experience, know-how, and exchanges," adding, "We will actively utilize this as an opportunity for economic exchange and cooperation by sharing Daegu’s know-how with major countries."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.