On 28 July, the CityNet Secretariat held a meeting with Suwon City. Three officials from Suwon City Hall visited the Secretariat in Seoul to meet with Director of Programmes Youngmin Chang and two staff members.

As the host city of both this year’s CityNet Executive Committee (ExCom) Meeting and the 8^th Asia-Pacific Urban Forum (APUF-8) scheduled for 23-25 October, Suwon has consistently provided unwavering support to CityNet.

Key agenda on the table was reviewing each article of the Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the preparation of the upcoming ExCom Meeting. Since the two parties agreed upon most details of the MoU, it is expected to be officially signed by mutual consent in a few weeks. Moreover, the participants also shared ideas and plans on how to effectively arrange logistics, facilities, meals, venues, and accommodations for the successful hosting of the ExCom Meeting.

Beyond the ExCom Meeting, CityNet is contributing to the organisation of APUF-8 as a cooperating partner. Suwon and the Secretariat discussed the submission procedures for the SDG Awards and explored joint efforts to invite speakers to relevant sessions. During APUF-8, CityNet is also to run a promotional booth. Both parties exchanged views on its proper design and location in this regard.

Through this fruitful meeting, Suwon and the CityNet Secretariat pledged deeper collaboration to bring mutual benefits.

This article has been written by Bohyun Kim, who can be reached at programs3@citynet-ap.org.

Bohyun Kim

Bohyun Kim has specialized in diplomacy through people-to-people exchanges. Before joining CityNet, he organised various diplomatic events from youth MUN conferences to peace forums at the ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Asia Exchange Association, and Jeju Forum Secretariat. At CityNet, he is responsible for the overall coordination for key legislative meetings. Mr Kim received his Master’s in Global Politics from the London School of Economics and Political Science and a BA in Journalism & Communications and Political Science & Int’l Relations from Kyung Hee Univ.