Yangcheon-gu Signs Online Sister City Agreement with Grecia, Costa Rica

Yangcheon-gu, Grecia City in Costa Rica, and Ambassador Kim Jin-hae to Costa Rica Connected via 3-Way Relay for Real-Time Online Event... Presenting a Sustainable Exchange and Cooperation Model Among Overseas Local Governments in the Post-COVID Era

[Asia Economy Reporter Jongil Park] Yangcheon-gu (District Mayor Kim Soo-young) signed a sister city agreement with Grecia City, Costa Rica (Mayor Francisco Murriokesada) on the morning of the 24th.

Located in the southern part of Central America, Costa Rica is 13,849 km in a straight line from Seoul, with a time difference of 15 hours.

The district prepared an online signing ceremony to overcome physical distance and time limitations in the post-COVID-19 era and to present a sustainable exchange and cooperation model between overseas local governments.

This event, conducted simultaneously via a three-way broadcast from Yangcheon Digital Media Center of Seoul Yangcheon District Office, Grecia City Hall in Costa Rica, and the Embassy of Costa Rica, was organized to strengthen friendship between the two countries and to establish a sister city agreement for the joint development of both cities.

Representing Yangcheon-gu were Kim Soo-young, Mayor of Yangcheon-gu, Seo Byung-wan, Chairman of Yangcheon District Council, Kwon Oh-sung, President of Yangcheon Chamber of Commerce, and Park Mira, President of Yangcheon Sports Council. About 30 key local economic figures attended, including Jorge Valerio, Charg? d'Affaires of the Costa Rican Embassy in Korea, Yangcheon-gu council members, executives of the Yangcheon Chamber of Commerce, Fair Trade Committee members and activists, and social economy participants.

From Grecia City, Mayor Francisco Murriokesada and Andres Stanley Ugalde, Chairman of the City Council, along with about 30 guests, also participated in the online signing ceremony.

Jin-hae Kim, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Costa Rica, joined via video call and delivered a congratulatory message hoping for continued exchange and cooperation between the two cities.

Through this agreement, the two cities agreed, based on the principles of mutual equality and reciprocity, to actively cooperate in promoting diverse exchanges and cooperation in administration, culture, economy, environment, education, and other fields, as well as to revitalize private exchanges through maintaining a regular communication system.

Costa Rica, a country without a military, is known as the "Switzerland of Central America" due to its well-established high-quality educational administration system and social security system. It is an international leader in climate change response and social economy and is the world's first carbon-neutral coffee exporter.

Since 2019, the district has exchanged broad opinions with Grecia City regarding areas and methods of exchange between the two local governments.

Mayor Kim Soo-young said, "I hope that Grecia City and Yangcheon-gu will grow into partners that help each other for the development of both cities and the strengthening of advanced administrative capabilities," adding, "We expect to promote practical and active exchanges and cooperation in various fields and to present a model of sustainable exchange and cooperation between overseas local governments in the post-COVID-19 era."

Currently, Yangcheon-gu has sister city agreements with Chaoyang District in Changchun City, China; Canterbury-Bankstown City in New South Wales, Australia; and Nakano Ward in Tokyo, Japan.

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