Daily Busan
Presidental envoy visits Africa
Mayor Park Heong-joon and King Letsie III in Lesotho.
From Feb. 22 to March 3, Mayor Park Heong-joon, a representative of the World Expo 2030 Busan presidential delegation, visited three African countries, Lesotho, South Africa and Angola, to garner support for the expo bid. The delegation included officials from KOTRA, Samsung Electronics and the Busan Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
During Park Mayor Park's visit to Maseru, the capital of Lesotho Feb. 24 (local time), he met with King Letsie III and other high-ranking officials to appeal for support for Busan's bid and discuss various cooperation avenues.
From Feb. 25 to 28 (local time), he visited Pretoria, the administrative capital of South Africa. He met with President Cyril Ramaphosa to actively promote Busan's candidature, expo preparations, the nation's willingness and programs that will contribute to Africa's development.
On the last stop of the tour, from Feb. 28 to March 2 (local time), Mayor Park visited Angola to discuss ways to expand exchanges, including negotiating with the capital city of Luanda and signing a sister city agreement.
Among the 171 BIE member countries, Africa has 46, second only to Europe at 48. Therefore, the region is a strategic target for raising support and Park's efforts are essential to the success of the bid.
During the preparation report meeting for the BIE inspection preparation team visit to Busan, Mayor Park expressed his determination to ensure Busan is the optimal city for hosting the expo and his hope that Busanites will actively participate and support the bid.