Changwon Special City Mayor Hong Nampyo Visits Poland ... Defense Industry and International Cooperation Diplomacy

'2023 MSPO International Defense Industry Exhibition'
Invited Visit... Comprehensive Defense Diplomacy
Signing of International Friendship City Agreement with Poznan City

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City in Gyeongnam, will embark on a trip to Poland on the 4th to participate in the ‘MSPO 2023 International Defence Industry Exhibition’ held in Kielce and to sign an international friendship city agreement with Pozna?.

Hong Nampyo, Mayor of Changwon Special City, Gyeongnam, is delivering a congratulatory speech at the K9 self-propelled howitzer shipment ceremony for fulfilling the export contract to Poland. [Image provided by Changwon Special City Hall]

Mayor Hong will begin defense industry diplomacy on the 5th (local time) by participating in the ‘MSPO 2023 International Defence Industry Exhibition.’ Officially invited, Mayor Hong will attend official events such as the ‘Expo Gala Opening Ceremony,’ a dinner hosted by the Polish Ministry of National Defence, and a reception hosted by the Republic of Korea Ministry of National Defence, while listening to the firsthand voices of defense industry companies.

The MSPO International Defence Industry Exhibition is the largest international defense industry exhibition in Poland and ranks third in size in Europe after France and the United Kingdom. At MSPO, Mayor Hong plans to sign a ‘Win-Win Cooperation Agreement for the Co-Growth of Large and Small-Medium Enterprises’ with Hanwha Aerospace and Hyundai Rotem, and hold a luncheon meeting with representatives of local defense SMEs participating in MSPO.

Additionally, at the MSPO venue, he will meet with representatives of ‘WZM,’ a subsidiary of the Polish state-owned defense group PGZ, introducing Changwon as a representative city of K-defense and local defense companies, and discuss cooperation plans. ‘WZM’ is a company located in Pozna? that signed a consortium implementation agreement for the production and delivery of the Polish version of the K2PL tank with Hyundai Rotem in March.

A meeting with local business operators is also scheduled in Wrocław. Companies such as LG Electronics and Shinsung Automotive have established operations in Wrocław, and the meeting will be held to exchange ideas for expanding their presence in Poland.

On the 8th, he will move to Pozna? to focus on international cooperation diplomacy. He will attend a signing ceremony between the Changwon Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Wielkopolska Chamber of Commerce to discuss new avenues of cooperation and talk with Korean language students at the Polish university about K-Pop and cultural exchange.

On the 9th, at Pozna? City Hall, Mayor Hong will sign an international friendship city agreement with the Mayor of Pozna?. This agreement is expected to promote cooperation between the two cities in various fields including the defense industry, education, and culture.

Mayor Hong stated, “The keywords for this trip are ‘defense industry diplomacy’ and ‘international cooperation diplomacy.’ Our country has signed the largest-ever defense export contract with Poland. To ensure this positive trend in defense exports continues, Changwon City will establish a European forward base through this trip and actively strive to pioneer new markets for the local defense industry.”

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