Incheon pointed to the reaffirmation of the status of Incheon as a global city and the strengthening of international cooperation as the diplomatic gains from the first trip of Mayor Yoo Jeongbok, who is the eighth elected mayor.
Mr. Yoo visited Singapore and Sidney, and Brisbane, Australia, from September 15th to 22.
This overseas trip was in response to the official invitation to the 9th Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference on Disaster Risk Reduction (APMCDRR) of UNDRR, which is an international disaster response organization. The itinerary also included the schedules to promote Incheon as a candidate city to host the 2025 AP|EC summit and the materialization of the plan to make Incheon an ultra-top-tier global city.
▲ In the APMCDRR meeting he attended during his first overseas trip, Mayor Yoo reconfirmed that Incheon has become a global city that shares global issues with the world’s major cities. The photo shows Mr. Yoo giving a speech titled ‘Incheon, a City with Disaster Resilience’ during the 9th APMCDRR hosted by UNDRR at the Brisbane Convention Center, Australia, on the 21st.
As some of the key diplomatic achievements made during this trip, Mr. Yoo pointed to the reconfirmation of the status of Incheon as a global city that shares global issues with the major cities of the world during the APMCDRR meeting and reaching a consensus with Sidney and Brisbane to continue material cooperations in terms of urban regeneration, disaster response, and restoration.
First, “the participation in and a speech during the APMCDRR meeting gave Incheon an opportunity to share the superior quality of Incheon’s disaster safety policies and disaster responses of Incheon, which is the first Asian city to be certified as a UNDRR resilience hub city and improve the reputation of the city,” according to Mr. Yoo.
He added, “As I met the business people of Singapore and Australia and shared their urban regeneration cases, I could develop the strategies to make Incheon a global city through the New Hong Kong City and Jemulpo Renaissance project and be assured of the successful execution of these projects.”
▲ On the 20th, the opening ceremony of APMCDRR was held in Brisbane, Australia.
▲ Mayor Yoo Jeongbok of Incheon attended the 9th APMCDRR meeting hosted by the UNDRR at the Brisbane Convention Center, Australia, on the 21st.
Especially, Mr. Yoo expressed his will by saying, “With the case of Singapore, we exchanged our opinion on various topics such as the strategies to build a financial hub in line with the New Hong Kong City project, which is a project to attract the global financial and trade companies that are leaving Hong Kong. Based on the successful cases of urban regeneration projects such as the Darling Harbor and Barangaroo of Australia, I will switch the structure of the redevelopment project for the inland port of Incheon into a project structure in which Incheon plays a central role and accelerate the progress ofthe said project.”
Also, with regard to the attraction of foreign capital, he said,“I will expand the roles of IFEZ so that the organization could design the quantitative and qualitative elements of Incheon’s growth into an ultra-top-tier city by means of attracting strategic multinational companies and cultivating new industries, etc.”
▲ Story Bridge at Howard Smith Wharves, Brisbane, Australia, which is a former commercial and agricultural district, regenerated into a waterfront space.
He added, “In addition, we will connect the tourism resources of Yeongjeong-do with the New Hong Kong City. By tapping into the unlimited growth potential of the Open Port and 168 islands, we will develop the core contents and additional tourism resources in line with the global trends while upgrading the tourism resources in the old downtown area to the international standard. A large-scale theme park will also be developed, as a part of our diverse approaches, so that Incheon can grow to become an international tourist destination.
With regard to his visit to the APEC Organizer’s office in Singapore to promote Incheon as a candidate city for the ‘2025 APEC,’ Mr. Yoo said, “I would like to host Incheon’s first summit meeting and make the city a global international meeting city as a part of the journey to realize the brand values of Incheon, ‘the world’s ultra-top-tier city Incheon where the citizens are happy,’” as he asked for proactive support.
