Park Hyung-jun, President of the Association of Provincial Governors, Holds 'Meeting with Heads of Foreign Missions in Korea'

At 11 AM on the 6th, Seoul Shilla Hotel Yeongbingwan, Ambassadors from over 80 Foreign Missions in Korea representing 78 countries attended

Mayor Park, "Establishing a systematic support foundation for local government diplomatic activities, an important stepping stone for local diplomacy"

Mayor Park Hyung-jun (Chairman of the Korea Council of Local Governments) will hold the "2024 Meeting with Heads of Foreign Missions in Korea" at 11 a.m. on the 6th at the State Guesthouse of the Shilla Hotel in Seoul.

This meeting is a major event held to strengthen cooperation between local governments and foreign diplomatic missions in Korea, marking its 15th year this year. It holds great significance as a platform where local governments establish themselves as important actors in international diplomacy and realize the value of global cooperation.

In particular, this year, the largest-ever scale is expected with ambassadors and others from 78 countries totaling over 80 participants attending, allowing attendees to experience the elevated status of local government diplomacy.

In his welcoming remarks, Mayor Park Hyung-jun will express his gratitude, saying, "This event, which began in 2010 with 9 ambassadors and 22 mission officials, has now become a meaningful annual event attended by over 80 people," and added, "This was possible thanks to the deep interest and support for international exchanges between local governments."

Shafik Rachadi, Ambassador of Morocco to Korea, who will deliver a congratulatory speech, is expected to promise active support for local diplomacy, stating, "Diplomatic activities between local governments play an important role in expanding the central government's diplomacy and broadening the scope of exchanges."

For the first time at this year's meeting, in cooperation with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs' Youth Local Livelihood Diplomacy Team, an event promoting specialties from seven provinces will be held at the pre-reception venue, attracting the interest of diplomats. The seven provinces are Gangwon, Gyeongnam, Gyeongbuk, Busan, Ulsan, Jeonbuk, and Chungbuk.

At the main event, major international events scheduled to be held next year will be announced, including Chungbuk Province's ▲‘Yeongdong World Gugak Expo’ ▲‘Jecheon Herbal Natural Products Industry Expo’, and Gyeongbuk Province's ▲‘APEC Summit’.

Materials and promotional items introducing each local government's international events for 2025 will be distributed to effectively publicize local international activities.

Mayor Park Hyung-jun, Chairman of the Korea Council of Local Governments, stated, "Following last year's signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with the Council of Diplomatic Corps to support local diplomacy, this year we also signed a cooperation MOU with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Korea to establish a foundation for systematically supporting diplomatic activities between local governments. This will be an important stepping stone opening a new horizon for local diplomacy," and added, "We will continue to communicate steadily for active exchanges and cooperation among local governments worldwide."

Park Hyung-jun, Mayor of Busan. Photo by Yonhap News

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