Pohang City and Pittsburgh City Expand Global Partnership Scope

Meeting with Fitzgerald Leader to Foster Continuous Exchange Between Two Cities

Visiting Carnegie Mellon University Research Facility Followed by Industry-Academia Collaboration

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Lee Gang-deok, mayor of Pohang City, currently visiting the United States, is expanding global partnerships by consecutively meeting with economic stakeholders in Pittsburgh, the U.S. 'Brain Belt,' thereby broadening the scope to secure future new industry engines.

According to Pohang City on the 13th, Mayor Lee Gang-deok and City Council Chairman Baek In-gyu, along with the city delegation, met with Rich Fitzgerald, Executive of Allegheny County, on the 12th (local U.S. time) and exchanged opinions on continuous exchanges between Pohang City and Pittsburgh City.

Mayor Lee Kang-deok, Chairman Baek In-gyu of the City Council, and other delegation members are meeting with Rich Fitzgerald, head of Allegheny County, to discuss ongoing exchanges between Pohang City and Pittsburgh City. (From the second person on the left: Mayor Lee Kang-deok, Rich Fitzgerald, head of Allegheny County, Chairman Baek In-gyu of the City Council)

Allegheny County is located in southwestern Pennsylvania, serving as the administrative center, with Pittsburgh as its largest city.

At this meeting, the Pohang City delegation, including Rich Fitzgerald and Cathy Lisko, Chairwoman of the Pittsburgh Sister Cities Association Exchange Council, agreed on the goal of establishing a sister city relationship between the two cities and expressed their intention to continuously promote exchanges in various fields such as education, culture, environment, and economy.

Rich Fitzgerald stated, "Allegheny County has recently seen a noticeable increase in the young population due to public-private partnerships creating jobs, establishing a livable environment, and affordable labor costs," adding, "I have great interest in exchanges with Pohang City and Pittsburgh City and will actively support them."

In response, Mayor Lee Gang-deok said, "From Pittsburgh City's case, which has transformed from the center of the U.S. steel industry in the past to a mecca of advanced technology today, we learn the direction Pohang's new growth industries should take," and added, "I hope we can grow together as global economic cities through continuous exchanges."

Prior to this, Mayor Lee and his party met Scott Morrey, Partnership Director of the Innovation Institute at the University of Pittsburgh, at the Pittsburgh Regional Alliance (PRA) office to discuss directions for fostering Pohang's bioindustry.

Scott Morrey said, "The Innovation Institute is a consortium of biotechnology stakeholders from over 28 universities in Pittsburgh, researching new medical technologies and striving to commercialize them through investment, intellectual property registration, talent development, and various efforts to foster the bioindustry."

Mayor Lee Gang-deok introduced Pohang City's cases for fostering bioindustry clusters such as the Cell Membrane Protein Research Institute and the Knowledge Industry Center Jungong, as well as efforts to attract research-focused medical schools, sharing opinions on bioindustry development plans needed for Pohang City.

Additionally, in the afternoon, the Pohang City delegation visited Carnegie Mellon University and discussed holding a regular forum between POSTECH's Park Tae-joon Future Strategy Institute and Carnegie Mellon University's Block Research Institute.

Mayor Lee Gang-deok, City Council Chairman Baek In-gyu, POSTECH President Kim Mu-hwan, and other delegation members visited Carnegie Mellon University to deliver an invitation letter regarding the regular forum between the POSTECH Park Tae-joon Future Strategy Institute and Carnegie Mellon University’s Block Research Institute.

They also toured major research facilities at Carnegie Mellon University, renowned for robotics and computer engineering, received explanations on the commercialization process of new technologies through industry-academia cooperation, and exchanged opinions on industry-academia support models applicable to Pohang City.

Mayor Lee Gang-deok said, "Pittsburgh City has been reborn as a 21st-century new growth model city through the establishment of cooperative governance involving civil, public, and academic sectors and investments in advanced technology centers, achieving outstanding results in medical and educational fields," adding, "We will focus on applying this successful model suitably to our city to create a booster effect for urban regeneration and develop Pohang into an innovative city."

During their visit to the U.S., the Pohang City delegation visited Mill 19 in Pittsburgh City on the 11th, which has been reborn from a former steel mill into a hub for advanced manufacturing technology. They met with tenant company representatives, listened to explanations about support projects for robotics development and strategies to revitalize manufacturing industries adapting to the 4th industrial revolution, and shared know-how.

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