Busan Deepens Maritime Ties With Germany
Busan City is set to pursue multifaceted cooperation with Germany, encompassing maritime and port affairs as well as people-to-people exchanges.Busan Mayor Jeon Jae-su met with Georg Wilfried Schmidt, German Ambassador to Korea, at the International Protocol Room of Busan City Hall on the afternoon
Busan City aims to forge comprehensive partnerships with Germany, focusing on maritime and port matters, as well as cross-cultural exchanges. On August 10, Mayor Jeon Jae-su met with German Ambassador Georg Wilfried Schmidt at Busan City Hall to discuss avenues for collaboration. Schmidt visited Busan to celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the Climate Physics Research Group at Pusan National University.
Mayor Jeon praised Germany's longstanding relationship with Korea, noting the robust trust accumulated over the past 140 years since the Treaty of Amity and Commerce in 1883. Busan holds particular importance in this friendship, as a Red Cross Hospital from Germany operated there from 1954 to 1959, treating around 270,000 patients.
The two cities have strong historical ties, beginning in 2005 with a Joint Declaration of Friendship and Cooperation, and reinforced in 2023 through a Friendship and Cooperation City Agreement. Currently, German officials from Hamburg are stationed at Busan City Hall through the K2H program, exchanging insights on urban administration.
Mayor Jeon outlined Busan's goal of becoming a "Maritime Capital at the Center of Future Transformation," highlighting priorities like developing a triport system, establishing an international logistics base, and creating an AI-driven smart port. He expressed confidence that Germany's manufacturing prowess and eco-friendly technologies would complement Busan's vision.
Both parties agreed to boost cooperation in eco-friendly port operations, digital and AI-driven smart logistics, port carbon neutrality, and workforce development. Ambassador Schmidt congratulated Busan for successfully hosting the UNESCO World Heritage Committee session and emphasized that citizen-led exchanges, alongside official cooperation, would strengthen Korea-Germany relations across various domains, including maritime affairs, ports, and culture.
Mayor Jeon expressed the hope that the meeting would deepen the friendship between Busan and Germany, translating into concrete results. Busan aims to leverage its close relationship with Germany to enhance its international standing as a maritime capital.
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