9:40 a.m. on the 20th at Busan Station, 125 People from 15 Organizations in Culture, Arts, and Economy
September 20 to October 2... Activities in Almaty, Tashkent, Samarkand, Dubai, and More
Busan Metropolitan City and the Busan Global City Foundation will hold the '2024 Eurasia City Diplomacy Delegation' departure ceremony at 9:40 a.m. on the 20th at the Busan Station waiting room, marking the start of a 13-day civilian diplomatic mission.
At Busan Station, the starting point of Eurasia, over 100 participants including youth, university officials, cultural and artistic figures, city council members, heads of related organizations, and citizens will gather to announce the beginning of this grand journey.
The ceremony will proceed in the following order: congratulatory and encouraging remarks, ticket handover, pledge, city diplomacy delegation flag handover, and a celebratory performance. After the ceremony, participants will board the train.
The head of the city diplomacy delegation is Councilor Jung Chae-sook of the City Council's Administrative and Cultural Committee. Nineteen university students are participating as youth diplomats to directly promote Busan as a great city for tourism, culture, and study.
This year's 'Eurasia City Diplomacy Delegation' consists of 47 members from the cultural and arts group, 20 from the business group, and 21 key figures and officials from the film, tourism, and education sectors, totaling 125 people from 15 organizations.
From September 20 to October 2, over 13 days, the delegation will visit four cities in three countries?Almaty, Tashkent, Samarkand, and Dubai?hosting 41 events to enhance the Busan brand and promote intercity exchanges in various sectors.
Starting this year under a new name, the 'Eurasia City Diplomacy Delegation' shifts from government or local government-led diplomacy to citizen and professional institution-centered activities, reflecting the changing diplomatic paradigm.
By leveraging its existing networks and know-how, the delegation aims to raise awareness of Busan as a 'global hub city,' creating opportunities for people worldwide to gather in Busan and for the city to soar as 'the city you want to live in, even if born again.'
Planned activities include the Busan international student recruitment briefing, the 1st anniversary project of the Samarkand-Busan friendship agreement in Uzbekistan, Busan youth diplomacy activities, and Busan Festa in Dubai.
In particular, the city, Busan Global City Foundation, and eight universities in the Busan area will form a team to promote the 'Study Busan 30K Project,' a Busan-style international student recruitment and training initiative, in Almaty, Tashkent, and Samarkand across Central Asia.
The eight universities in Busan participating are Pusan National University, Pukyong National University, Dong-A University, Busan University of Foreign Studies, Silla University, Youngsan University, Kyungnam College of Information and Technology, and Dong-Eui Institute of Technology.
The 'Eurasia City Diplomacy Delegation' previously operated under the name 'Eurasia Citizen Grand Journey' from 2016 to 2019, vitalizing city-to-city exchanges via combined maritime and land logistics routes.
In particular, in 2022 and last year, the delegation contributed to substantial exchanges by expanding networks with key Central Asian cities such as Almaty and Samarkand and discovering new friendship and cooperation networks.
Lee Joonseung, Deputy Mayor for Administrative Affairs of Busan, stated, “In June, the President visited Central Asia, and the government announced the Korea-Central Asia K-Silk Road cooperation initiative, emphasizing principles of partnership, convergence, and creativity, as well as long-standing ties and organic networks. This visit by the Eurasia City Diplomacy Delegation will be a very important opportunity for Busan to leap forward as a 'global hub city.' I hope all members complete the planned schedule successfully and return in good health.”
© The Asia Business Daily(www.asiae.co.kr). All rights reserved.
