"Securing a Foothold for European Expansion" ... Ulsan City Establishes Sister City Relationship with Burgas, Bulgaria, a Key Black Sea Port Logistics Hub

Ulsan City Hall.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Yong-woo] Ulsan City and Burgas City in Bulgaria have formed a sister city relationship.

Song Cheol-ho, Mayor of Ulsan, and Dimitar Nikolov, Mayor of Burgas, held a sister city signing ceremony at Burgas City Hall in Bulgaria on the 23rd at 11 a.m. (6 p.m. Korean time) and signed the agreement.

Since establishing a friendly cooperation city relationship with Chennai, India in 2016, Ulsan City recently became sister cities with Houston, USA.

By forming a sister city relationship with Burgas, Bulgaria, a key logistics hub on the European continent, Ulsan has effectively established a foothold for its entry into Europe.

Ulsan City and Burgas City signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for exchange and cooperation in December 2018. Subsequently, the Ulsan City Council approved the sister city agreement in February 2019, and the Burgas City Council approved it in October 2021.

Ulsan City held the sister city signing ceremony in Burgas City upon the official invitation of Burgas.

Mayor Song Cheol-ho said, “Based on the similar city characteristics as logistics export port cities, we expect to promote exchange projects and exchanges in various fields such as renewable energy, information and communication technology (ICT), and education.”

Mayor Dimitar Nikolov said, “Although the sister city signing ceremony with Ulsan was delayed due to COVID-19, I believe that the signing will deepen the relationship between the two cities.”

Burgas is the gateway connecting the Adriatic Sea and the Black Sea, the second largest port city in Bulgaria located on the Black Sea coast, and a center of industry, transportation, culture, and tourism.

The sister city relationship between Ulsan and Burgas has been promoted since former Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon’s official visit to Bulgaria in 2017, when former Bulgarian Prime Minister Boyko Borissov fully authorized the Burgas mayor to cooperate between Korea and Bulgaria.

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