Paju City to Visit Sister Cities for 30th Anniversary
Strengthening Practical Cooperation Directly Connected to Citizens' Lives
Paju City Mayor Kim Kyungil will make an official visit to Jinzhou City and Shenyang City in Liaoning Province, China, for three days and two nights from June 11 to June 13. This visit goes beyond a simple diplomatic trip; it is part of diplomatic efforts to reaffirm the 30-year friendship and to establish a foundation for practical cooperation that directly impacts the lives of citizens.
Jinzhou City was the first overseas city with which Paju City established a sisterhood relationship in 1995. Over the past several decades, the two cities have actively exchanged in various fields, including youth homestay programs, school exchanges, cultural and arts group invitations, and economic delegations, maintaining a friendship and cooperation based on local ties.
This visit is an official event commemorating the 30th anniversary of the sisterhood relationship. It is designed to reaffirm mutual trust and friendship and to explore new directions for cooperation for future generations.
On the first day of the visit, an official event will be held in Jinzhou City to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the sisterhood relationship. Representatives from both sides will attend to share the achievements of their exchanges so far and to engage in practical discussions to expand future cooperation.
A particularly notable aspect of this visit is that cooperation with Jinzhou City will not remain merely symbolic in the cultural sphere but will expand to areas closely connected to citizens' daily lives, such as tourism, traditional foods, and the livestock and fisheries industries.
To this end, the two sister cities plan to sign a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) that deepens the level of cooperation, allowing private companies and institutions to participate together. This is expected to lead to tangible economic and social outcomes, such as expanding overseas opportunities for Paju-based small and medium-sized enterprises, increasing export opportunities for local agricultural and livestock products, and establishing a foundation for joint cultural tourism marketing.
In addition, during this visit, Paju City will participate in the '2nd Liaoning Province International Friendship City Trade Fair,' which is being held at the official invitation of the Liaoning provincial government. At this event, Paju City plans to broaden exchange opportunities with representatives from various countries and cities and to promote Paju’s policies and industrial capabilities to the international community. In Shenyang City, which will be visited afterward, a friendship and cooperation agreement will be signed between Paju City and Shenyang City. This is expected to diversify Paju City's exchange cities and further expand its Northeast Asia cooperation network.
Cooperation with Shenyang City is expected to help discover and promote joint projects in various fields such as education, culture, tourism, and technology. In particular, by revitalizing youth exchange programs and private sector cooperation, an international exchange platform will be established that enables direct citizen participation.
Through this visit, Paju City plans to strengthen diplomatic trust and, based on this, to steadily pursue international cooperation policies that deliver tangible benefits to its citizens. Going forward, Paju City will ensure that various agreements do not remain merely formalities but are implemented as actual policies and projects through regular working-level consultations.
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