Suwon and French city of Tours strengthen friendship for mutual cooperation and development

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Kang Han-seo] Suwon City and Tours in France have launched efforts to expand exchange and cooperation for the development of both cities.

Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young and Tours Mayor Christophe Bouchet exchanged a memorandum of understanding on friendly cooperation and exchange between Suwon and Tours on July 1 (local time) at Tours City Hall.

Through this exchange of memorandum of understanding on friendly cooperation, the two cities will expand exchange and cooperation across all areas of sustainable urban policy, including city management, education, research and innovation, culture and arts, and economy.

Mayor Yeom emphasized, "French troops were stationed in Suwon during the Korean War," adding "France is a historically unforgettable and intimate relationship for Suwon."

He continued, "Just as the ancient castles nestled along the Loire River and Suwon Fortress surrounding the Suwon Stream have much in common, I hope that today's exchange of memorandum of understanding will lead to more concrete and practical exchanges between the two cities."

Tours Mayor Christophe Bouchet said, "I am pleased to have friendly exchanges with Suwon City," and expressed hope that "the two cities will share friendship in various fields including food, culture, and arts in the future."

Tours, located in central-western France, is a city where tradition and modernity coexist. It is a representative French tourist destination visited by more than one million people annually, and was designated as a UNESCO World Heritage City in 2000.

With Renaissance-era castles concentrated around the Loire River and the Leonardo da Vinci Convention at its center, Tours is implementing policies similar to Suwon's pursuit of "sustainable urban development," including tourism business linked to the MICE industry and eco-friendly transportation policies including trams.

Tours' tram, which opened in August 2013, passes through 29 stations (15 km). An average of 65,000 people use it daily.

The connection between Suwon and Tours began at the "Local Government International Relations Officials Seminar" hosted by the National Association of Mayors and Governors held in Daegu on March 15.

Jerome Tebaldi, deputy mayor of Tours who attended the seminar, said, "I hope to have exchanges with Suwon City," and requested "please visit Tours." Suwon responded to this request, leading to exchanges between the two cities.

Meanwhile, Mayor Yeom and the Suwon delegation (9 members) are visiting Freiburg in Germany, Tours in France, and Cluj-Napoca in Romania from June 28 to July 4 to expand international exchange and cooperation and to promote sister city commemorative projects.

Prior to his visit to Tours, Mayor Yeom met with Freiburg Mayor Martin Horn on June 29 to discuss the 5th anniversary commemorative project to be carried out in 2020. The two cities established a sister city relationship in November 2015.

Mayor Yeom and Mayor Martin Horn discussed the following for the 5th anniversary commemoration: ▲Hosting a "Suwon Day" event in Freiburg (tentative name) ▲Designating "Suwon Road" in Freiburg and "Freiburg Road" in Suwon ▲Implementation of exchange assignments between the mayors of Suwon and Freiburg.

On July 2, Mayor Yeom will return to Korea on domestic schedule, and Suwon Deputy Mayor Jo Chung-sik will visit Cluj-Napoca in Romania with the Suwon delegation.

Deputy Mayor Jo will visit Cluj-Napoca City Hall on July 3 to attend the 20th anniversary commemoration ceremony of the sister city relationship. On this day, Deputy Mayor Jo plans to meet with Cluj-Napoca Mayor Emil Boc to discuss exchange and cooperation projects between Suwon and Cluj-Napoca.

Deputy Mayor Jo and the Suwon delegation will participate in "Suwon Day" events (July 3-7) held in Cluj-Napoca's central park and museum square to commemorate the 20th anniversary of the sister city relationship between the two cities. The Suwon Day events will be held in various formats, including Korean food festivals featuring traditional Korean cuisine, craft festivals, Suwon photo exhibitions, and hanbok (traditional Korean dress) and Hangul (Korean script) experience events.