Korea’s global governance efforts stand to its bid for World Expo host

Diplomacy

Published: 03 Apr. 2023, 18:26 Updated: 03 Apr. 2023, 19:29

Korea’s global governance efforts stand to its bid for World Expo host

Patrick Specht, president of the BIE's Administration and Budget Committee, left, asks a question during a meeting with the Korean government and the Busan World Expo 2030 bid committee at Hotel Shilla on Monday. The official inquiring on Korea’s candidacy to host the World Expo kicked off on Monday. [THE BID COMMITTEE FOR WORLD EXPO 2030 BUSAN, KOREA]

Korea’s contribution to global governance as a potential host of the World Expo in 2030 was one of the main points of interest for the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) delegation that kicked off its week-long inspection in the country to assess Busan’s candidacy.

The Korean government and The Bid Committee for World Expo 2030 Busan held its first presentation accompanied by a Q&A session for the eight-member delegation led by Patrick Specht, president of the BIE's Administration and Budget Committee on their first official day of its visit in Seoul.

The presentation, which was given under the theme of "political unity" was hosted by Korean Trade Minister Ahn Duk-geun, who spoke about Busan's motivation as well as its political, economic and social environment. Yoon Sang-jik, the Busan World Expo bidding committee secretary general, explained about the expo preparation team's operations.

A second presentation is scheduled to take place later this week in Busan, where the delegation will get a tour of the site of the expo as well as the city's popular destinations.

Members of the delegation posed questions during their meeting with Foreign Minister Park Jin at the ministry headquarters in Seoul, also on Monday.

“Park emphasized how the 'poly-crisis' that the international community is currently facing, such as the pandemic, supply chain disruption and climate change, is a challenge that cannot be resolved with the efforts of one country alone,” said the ministry in its statement following the meeting. “He mentioned that Korea will continue to contribute to the international community by sharing its experience of leaping from one of the poorest countries in the world to a developed nation.”

Foreign Minister Park Jin, fifth from left, Patrick Specht, president of the Bureau International des Expositions (BIE) Administration and Budget Committee, fourth from left, and members of the BIE delegation pose at the ministry in Seoul on Monday. [MINISTRY OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS]

Park was said to have introduced Korea’s policies on innovation and technology, and how Busan has been at the hub of its development history.

The delegation arrived in Korea on Sunday for its six-day on-site inspections to determine Busan’s readiness to host the World Expo in 2030.

Following its visit to Korea, the delegation will submit a report on Busan’s bid and share the result with the 171 BIE member countries during the first biannual general assembly in June.

The final decision will be made in November by a secret ballot.

Busan is competing with Saudi Arabia's Riyadh, Ukraine's Odesa and Italy’s Rome.

The delegation also met with National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo on Monday and Prime Minister Han Duck-soo.

High-ranking officials in Korea including the president, prime minister and heads of conglomerates and corporate executives have been actively introducing Busan’s bid to host the expo in their meetings with leaders of over 90 countries since last June, according to the Foreign Ministry.

Prime Minister Han took part in the BIE General Assembly meetings in Paris in June and November last year and has also met with officials in Mozambique and Ghana from November to December last year.

“Korea intends to expand its role and responsibility in the international community through its vision of a global pivotal state, and the Busan Expo is the platform for realizing this,” the Foreign Ministry said in its statement on Monday.

Heads of Korean diplomatic missions also gathered in Busan on March 31 with the mayor of Busan to share their efforts and strategies for negotiations for the World Expo.

The ambassadors were in Seoul last week to attend an annual meeting hosted by the foreign minister to share the latest on Korea’s foreign policy strategies. This year, the meeting focused on the convergence of foreign policy with economic policies, especially in light of supply chain disruptions, as well as the growing need to address the denuclearization of North Korea and its human rights violations.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]