Minister Sangwoo Park to Attend OECD Regional Development Policy and International Transport Ministers' Meetings

Discussing Cooperation on Ukraine's Reconstruction
with Polish Ministers and Others

The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport announced on the 18th that Minister Sangwoo Park will attend the OECD Ministerial Meeting on Regional Development Policy and the OECD International Transport Forum (ITF) Ministers' Meeting, which will be held in Warsaw, Poland, and Leipzig, Germany, from May 19 to 22 (local time). At these meetings, he will discuss future policy directions in the fields of land and transportation.

First, the OECD Ministerial Meeting on Regional Development Policy will be held in Warsaw from May 19 to 20 under the theme "Strengthening Regional Policy for Building Resilient Regions." As the lead speaker, Minister Park will present Korea's strategies for establishing mega-regional megacities and creating innovation growth hubs to address regional depopulation and enhance regional competitiveness. He will also seek solutions together with the international community.

Sangwoo Park, Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, is speaking at the "Great Debate for Early Achievement of 2 Trillion Dollar Overseas Construction" held in Seoul on the 16th. Photo by Yonhap News Agency, Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport

Subsequently, at the ITF Ministers' Meeting on May 21, Minister Park will share policies on carbon-neutral transport transition and responses to disasters and climate crises. He will participate in the Ministerial Roundtable on Climate Change, where he will introduce Korea's representative transport policies, such as the K-Pass for revitalizing public transportation, and discuss ways to improve global transport governance and cooperation to address climate change.

In addition, he will call for interest and support from Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) member countries for the successful hosting of the APEC Summit scheduled to take place in Gyeongju this November. During the OECD meetings, Minister Park will also hold bilateral talks with ministers from Poland and Ukraine to discuss cooperation on Ukraine's reconstruction, and will attend a meeting with Korean companies operating locally.

Minister Park plans to sign a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) with Katarzyna Pelczynska-Nalecz, Poland's Minister of Funds and Regional Policy, to strengthen cooperation in the smart city sector between the two countries. Based on the MOU signed in May 2023 with Poland's plenipotentiary for Ukraine development cooperation (under the Ministry of Funds and Regional Policy), the two countries will also discuss ways to cooperate on Ukraine's reconstruction.

He will also meet with Dariusz Klimczak, Poland's Minister of Infrastructure, to promote support for winning contracts in transportation infrastructure projects, including new airport high-speed rail and new road construction projects.

Minister Park will review the status of cooperation since the signing of the inter-ministerial MOU on reconstruction in 2023 with Oleksii Kuleba, Ukraine's Deputy Prime Minister for Restoration and Minister for Communities, Territories and Infrastructure Development. He will also assess Ukraine's reconstruction needs and discuss ways to expand Korean companies' participation in various types of future reconstruction projects, such as public-private partnership (PPP) investment and development projects.

At a meeting with representatives of Korean construction and engineering companies operating in Poland, Minister Park will reaffirm the government's commitment to supporting the era of "2 Trillion Dollar Overseas Construction."

Minister Sangwoo Park stated, "Korea will continue to implement more inclusive policies in the domestic land and transportation sectors for a sustainable future for all, while also expanding cooperation with the OECD and promoting the OECD's values and norms to address global common challenges."