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| Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, right, met Bosnia and Herzegovina Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Stasa Kosarac in Sarajevo on Dec. 2 to promote the city's bid to host Expo 2030. Courtesy of Busan Metropolitan City |
By Ko Dong-hwan
Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon visited Bosnia and Herzegovina as he continued promoting his city's bid to host Expo 2030. The visit follows his trip to Bulgaria, where he met the country's president and the mayor of Sofia, the country's capital.
To secure as many votes from member states of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) in Paris as possible in the race against Riyadh and Rome, the mayor met Minister of Foreign Trade and Economic Relations Stasa Kosarac in Sarajevo on Dec. 2. Park proposed that the two countries form an agreement on economic cooperation to expand their bilateral economic partnership.
The 2030 Expo Bid Promotion Headquarters under the Busan Metropolitan City Government said the Bosnian minister remarked he too hoped for positive long-term bilateral economic relations and hopes to have discussions with the Korean port city's chamber of commerce and industry. The minister, according to the city authority, added that hosting the expo would be a good opportunity for Korean companies to promote themselves overseas.
Park, in the meeting, explained to the minister about the Busan Initiative project, with which, the city government, by hosting the expo, hopes to suggest solutions for problems currently shared by humanity, including the climate crisis, digital gaps between countries and countermeasures against COVID-19.
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| Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon delivers a letter from Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol to Bosnia and Herzegovina Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs Sihana Cekic Causevic. Courtesy of Busan Metropolitan City |
The mayor of Korea's second-biggest city then met Sihana Cekic Causevic, the deputy minister of the European country's foreign affairs, and delivered her a letter from Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol. The president, according to the city government, in the letter said he hoped the countries' bilateral ties would develop further. Bosnia's rich resources of rare earth minerals, timber and metals will attract investment from Korean companies, the president said. The two countries can also exchange culture, sports and films, all of which can make further developments starting with World Expo 2030, the president added in the letter.
The deputy minister welcomed Park and the letter, saying Bosnia will become a safe checkpoint for Korean companies to invest in Europe. She further suggested establishing a South Korean Embassy in the European nation to mark bilateral relations.
The mayor said in a press release that he has been trying to draw long-term sustainable relationships from the countries he visited and, at the same time, improve Korea's global competitiveness. "The city government of Busan, the central government and private sectors are making all efforts to persuade member states of the BIE by appealing to the Korean central government's strong willingness to host Expo 2030, and Busan's attraction points and capability to pull off the bid," the mayor said.
The mayor and the rest of the Korean delegation then visited San Marino, the last leg of his European tour, scheduled to last until Wednesday.
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