"Eurasian Citizen Grand March's First Achievement, Pioneering the North" ... Busan City Signs Sister City Agreement with Almaty, Kazakhstan

Expectations for Expanding Mutual Cooperation in Economy, Culture, and Finance with Almaty City, Kazakhstan

Busan City Signs Sister City Agreement with Almaty, Kazakhstan.

[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Dongguk Lee] Busan City signed a sister city cooperation agreement with Almaty City, Kazakhstan, on the 14th.

This commemorates the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Kazakhstan and aims to open new markets in northern regions such as Central Asia. It is also the first achievement of the "Eurasia Citizen Expedition," a civilian diplomatic delegation of 55 people including university student expo promotion teams and businesspeople, which departed on the 13th.

At the agreement signing ceremony held at Almaty City Hall on the same day, Lee Seong-gwon, Busan City Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, Ahn Seong-min, Chairperson of the City Council, businesspeople participating in the "Eurasia Citizen Expedition," and Almaty Deputy Mayor and other officials attended.

According to this agreement, the two cities, as sister cities, agreed to promote mutual prosperity and development, expand human exchanges, and broaden cooperation in various fields including economy, culture, tourism, film, digital industry, and medical sectors.

Lee Seong-gwon, Busan City Deputy Mayor for Economic Affairs, said upon signing the sister city cooperation agreement, "Korea and Kazakhstan have maintained cooperative relations in various fields such as economy, culture, and tourism," adding, "With this sister city cooperation agreement, Almaty, a city of film and video, and our city, an international tourism city, will have active exchanges in video and tourism fields, and it is especially expected to greatly help promote the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo."

Almaty is the first Central Asian city with which Busan has established a sister city cooperation relationship. The city stated that this agreement is particularly meaningful as it provides a foothold for Busan-based companies to enter Almaty, the largest city in Kazakhstan.

With this, Busan has established sister and friendly cooperation relationships with 38 cities in 28 countries, forming an active foundation for city diplomacy.

The trade delegation that departed with the "Eurasia Citizen Expedition" signed a business agreement with the Almaty City Investment Department and the commercial activity sector, and held an export consultation meeting, pursuing contracts worth over $3.85 million with 65 local buyers.

Following this achievement, the "Eurasia Citizen Expedition" is expected to create substantial exchange results with Central Asian cities through its itinerary covering Bishkek and Tashkent, as well as Brussels and Paris, promoting the bid for the 2030 Busan World Expo and fostering economic, cultural, and human exchanges.