Daejeon City will engage in full-fledged diplomatic activities on the world stage to host the 2022 UCLG successfully.
Daejeon City announced on the 21st that Mayor Huh Tae-jung will go on a business trip to Europe and Africa from the 23rd to the 5th of next month to sign a business agreement at the UCLG General Assembly next year.
The main schedule of this business trip is to ask cities around the world to participate in next year's Daejeon General Assembly, including the signing of a business agreement with the UCLG Secretariat. In addition, the city plans to deploy tram tours and urban regeneration inspections between schedules to finally inspect the 7th popular election core projects that have been promoted.
Mayor Huh will first visit the UCLG European headquarters in Brussels, Belgium, on the 25th as his first official schedule.
Mayor Huh will meet with Frederick Valier*, Secretary-General of the CEMR(Council of European Municipalities and Regions), 130,000 local governments in 42 European countries, to introduce the 2022 UCLG General Assembly and promote the Science City Daejeon.
*Frederic Valier: Important impact on CEMR work, European local government policy, and legislation.
On the 26th, he will visit Darwin, a successful urban regeneration facility in Bordeaux, France, to refine policy designs for the development of the original city center, and tour the integrated operation of public transportation such as tram routes and buses on the 27th.
Afterward, he will visit the UCLG World Secretariat in Barcelona, Spain, and sign a business agreement with Secretary-General Emilia Sais.
Mayor Huh plans to agree with Secretary-General Emilia Sais on UCLG topics and programs, the decision on participation and sponsorship targets for member cities, financial burdens such as holding UCLG General Assembly, and legal matters related to the operation of the UCLG General Assembly. Through this, the overall outline of next year's Daejeon UCLG General Assembly will be confirmed.
Mayor Huh also plans to express his willingness to make next year's UCLG a general assembly of exchanges and peace between South and North Korean cities by delivering letters invited by the Chosun Urban Federation.
After the business trip to Europe, he will move to Morocco, Africa, to continue promoting the 2022 UCLG General Assembly and Daejeon City.
On the 1st of next month, he will hold a meeting with Mohamed Budra*, chairman of the UCLG organization in Rabat, Morocco. Afterward, he will visit the African Regional Headquarters* to introduce Daejeon UCLG General Assembly and Daejeon, and appeal for much interest and active participation from African cities.
*Mohamed Budra: UCLG World Chairman, Vice Chairman of North Africa
*African Regional Headquarters: General manager of over 40 countries and 20,000 member cities.
Mayor Huh will meet with Mayor Asmaralu of Rabat, Morocco's capital, and Mayor Abdelaziz El Omari of Casablanca, North Africa's largest city, on the 2nd and 3rd of next month. He will do his best to promote Daejeon's UCLG General Assembly and Daejeon City, including on-site interviews
*On-site Interview: Morocco's largest French daily newspaper, Le Matin.
He will return home on the 4th of next month and enter the country through Incheon International Airport on the 5th, and the city delegation's business trip schedule of 12 nights and 14 days, including Mayor Heo, will be completed.
Daejeon Mayor Huh Tae-jung said, "This business trip will make Daejeon an opportunity for the 2022 Daejeon UCLG General Assembly to establish itself as an international city. In addition, we will accelerate the progress of these projects in the future by inspecting the core projects (urban railway line 2, regeneration of the original city center) that have been promoted so far."
