Daejeon and Japan's Sapporo to Strengthen Practical Cooperation at the "Sapporo Snow Festival"

15th Anniversary of Sister-City Ties with Sapporo...Officially Invited to Snow Festival and More

Strengthening International Exchanges Through a Business Consultation Meeting with 19 Local Companies Participating

Photo by Daejeon City

To mark the 15th anniversary of their sister-city relationship, a Daejeon City delegation visited Sapporo from February 3 to 5 for a two-night, three-day trip at the official invitation of the City of Sapporo in Japan.

Through participation in official events for the Sapporo Snow Festival, the expansion of economic exchanges such as a business consultation meeting, and commemorative events for the 15th anniversary of the sister-city relationship, the two cities plan to strengthen practical cooperation.

On the first day of the official schedule on February 3, the delegation visited the Former Hokkaido Government Office Building to examine cases of preserving historic architecture and urban regeneration, and looked for implications that could be linked to Daejeon’s future policies for revitalizing the old downtown and utilizing public assets.

Afterward, at Sapporo City Hall, they met with Mayor Katsuhiro Akimoto and discussed ways to expand the scope of cooperation from festivals, culture, and tourism to include human exchanges, as well as the youth, education, urban, and policy sectors.

Photo by Daejeon City

On February 4, by attending the opening ceremony of the Sapporo Snow Festival and inspecting the festival venues, the delegation will share best practices in hosting international events and encourage three sculptors from Daejeon who are participating as Korea’s representatives in the International Snow Sculpture Contest. Through this, Daejeon plans to showcase its cultural and artistic capabilities abroad and lay the groundwork for expanding international cultural exchanges in the future.

In addition, on the afternoon of the same day, the “Daejeon–Sapporo Business Consultation Meeting” will be held to initiate full-fledged business matching and economic exchanges between companies from the two cities (19 companies from Daejeon and around 30 companies from Sapporo).

Photo by Daejeon City

Meanwhile, at the 15th-anniversary commemorative reception, the mayors of the two cities will pour sand into an hourglass in a symbolic performance to celebrate 15 years of cooperation, and they are scheduled to declare a new beginning toward the future, along with a pledge of friendship.

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