Gwangyang City to Attend Asia-Pacific Cities Summit, Share Policies with 30 Cities from 12 Countries

【Financial News, Gwangyang = Hwang Tae-jong, reporter】Gwangyang City will take part in the 15th Asia-Pacific Cities Summit, to be held in Fukuoka, Japan, from the 19th to the 22nd, sharing policies with 30 cities from 12 countries and engaging in global city diplomacy.
 The aim is to showcase Gwangyang’s urban competitiveness while expanding exchanges and cooperation with major cities across the Asia-Pacific region.
 According to Gwangyang City on the 14th, the Asia-Pacific Cities Summit is an international conference launched in 1994 at the suggestion of Fukuoka City, where Asia-Pacific cities have shared experience and expertise and worked together to solve urban problems for around 30 years.
 Since joining in 2008, Gwangyang City has taken part four times—in 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2018—and this will be its fifth participation.
 Being held in Fukuoka again after eight years, this summit will focus on “Building Sustainable Cities Through Cooperation and Co-Creation” and discuss ways for cities, international organizations and private companies to work together to address increasingly complex urban problems.
 About 500 people are expected to attend, including mayor-level delegations from 30 cities in 12 countries, as well as representatives of international organizations and private companies. From South Korea, Gwangyang, Busan Metropolitan City and Pohang will participate. Overseas participants will include major Asia-Pacific cities such as Fukuoka, Kitakyushu and Kumamoto in Japan; Singapore; Manila in the Philippines; Semarang in Indonesia; Ipoh in Malaysia; and Koh Rong and Sihanoukville in the Kingdom of Cambodia.
 Gwangyang Mayor Park Seong-hyeon will present in the first of three breakout sessions, “Co-Creating Sustainable Urban Infrastructure Through Public-Private Cooperation.” Under the title “Opening a New Sea Route Through Public-Private Cooperation: The Future of a Sustainable City,” he is set to outline Gwangyang’s vision for maritime exchanges and its approach to sustainable urban development.
 Mayor Park Seong-hyeon emphasized, “This Asia-Pacific Cities Summit will be a meaningful opportunity to showcase Gwangyang’s competitiveness and potential for growth to the international community and seek new opportunities for cooperation.”
 During the summit, Mayor Park is scheduled to meet separately with officials from major cities, including Singapore’s Minister of State, the vice mayor of Da Nang City in Vietnam—which signed a friendship-city agreement with Gwangyang last August—and the mayor of Fukuoka, Japan, the host city. They will discuss ways to expand exchanges and cooperation between cities.
 In connection with efforts to launch a Korea-Japan car ferry service, he is also set to visit Hakata Port and the Fukuoka branch of the Korea Tourism Organization, among other places, to explore practical opportunities for cooperation in ports and tourism.
 Mayor Park said, “We will share with Asia-Pacific cities the potential for a new maritime network starting in Gwangyang and communicate proactively to ensure that exchanges between cities lead to cooperation that delivers tangible benefits to the region.”

[email protected] Hwang Tae-jong Reporter