– British delegation visits Sejong from 17th to 20th... Promoting the discovery of policy sharing and collaboration tasks –
Belfast, the capital of Northern Ireland, will form a delegation to visit Sejong Special Self-Governing City (Mayor Choi Min-ho), a city of friendly cooperation, from the 17th to the 20th.
This visit is proposed by the British government in 2021 as part of the Korea-UK Twins Project, which seeks to solve economic development and urban problems, such as exchange of smart city status with major cities around the world and overseas expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises.
As a result of the 'inter-city similarity analysis research service' conducted by the British government, Sejong City is playing a leading role in the field of smart city creation, and has entered into a relationship with Belfast City, which is preparing to create an innovation and smart district in the United Kingdom.
Accordingly, while continuing exchange and cooperation, the two cities signed a friendship city agreement on August 8, promising cooperation in areas of common interest such as ▲intelligent cities, ▲cyber security, ▲joint research and academic exchanges, and ▲support for overseas expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises.
Then, on August 8, a business agreement was signed to strengthen economic and cybersecurity cooperation between Sejong Techno Park, the Northern Ireland Trade and Investment Office, and Sejong City, Korea University Sejong Campus, and Queen's University.
During this visit, which is being promoted as a follow-up measure according to a total of three agreements, including the friendship city agreement signed between the two regions, the city of Belfast, UK, will share policies in the field of innovation with Sejong City and strive to discover cooperation tasks.
The delegation consisted of about 10 people, including officials from the City of Belfast, the Northern Ireland Trade and Investment Authority, the UK Regional Innovation Corporation, and Queen's University.
During this visit, the British delegation will tour the Urban Integrated Information Center and the industry-academia-research cluster to share policies in the smart city field, and discuss ways to cooperate in cybersecurity policies at Korea University's Sejong Campus.
Next, we plan to continue discussions on supporting budding companies (startups) and creating a startup ecosystem by visiting the Creative Economy Innovation Center, Sejong Techno Park, and Hongik University's 'Maker Space'.
On the 18th, the second day of his visit, Mayor Choi Min-ho plans to meet with a delegation from Belfast, England, at City Hall and communicate directly about ways to cooperate in the field of innovation between friendly cities.
Mayor Choi Min-ho said, “This visit by the British delegation will further expand economic, technological, and policy cooperation between the two cities. In particular, we expect that both cities will be able to contribute together to the global challenges of smart city development and solving urban problems.” “I do it,” he said.