Suwon City Establishes Sister City Ties with Phoenix, Arizona

[Suwon Ilbo=Reporter Jung Joon-sung] Suwon City signed a sister city agreement with Phoenix, Arizona on the 28th (local time) and pledged active exchanges and cooperation.

Suwon Mayor Yeom Tae-young and Kate Gallego, Mayor of Phoenix, Arizona, signed the sister city agreement at Rustler's Rooste, a traditional Phoenix restaurant.

Phoenix has become Suwon City's 18th international sister and friendship city and the first sister city in North America. Suwon City becomes Phoenix's 11th international sister city, and this marks Phoenix's first sister city agreement in 15 years.

With the establishment of the sister city agreement with Phoenix, Suwon City plans to actively exchange across all city administration including environmental policies such as waste management policies, smart cities, and sustainable development. The city will also pursue exchanges in the sports, university, and business sectors.

Phoenix has become the second "environmental policy exchange sister city" following Freiburg, Germany, with which Suwon established an international sister city agreement in 2015.

Suwon City and Phoenix held a video conference on October 5th and exchanged waste management policies.

Mayor Yeom Tae-young stated, "Today is a historic day when Phoenix, the capital of Arizona, and Suwon, the capital of Gyeonggi Province, become sister cities," and added, "Suwon City is the best partner to exchange with on Mayor Kate Gallego's key interests—environment, sustainable development, smart cities, and sports."

He continued, "I hope that Suwon City and Phoenix will continue meaningful exchanges and nurture a lush 'tree of friendship,' and I hope that a friendly match between the Arizona Diamondbacks and KT Wiz will be promoted."

Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego said, "This is the first sister city agreement I've signed since becoming mayor of Phoenix, and I will work to develop the relationship with Suwon City," and added, "I truly hope that a friendly match between KT Wiz and the Arizona Diamondbacks will take place."

Mayor Yeom Tae-young presented two Maekgan craft artworks to Phoenix Mayor Kate Gallego at the ceremony. The pieces depict a phoenix surrounding Paldal Gate and a phoenix symbolizing Phoenix City. The works were created by Lee Sang-soo, director of the Maekgan Craft Research Institute.

The ceremony was attended by Suwon City officials including Mayor Yeom Tae-young, Suwon City Council Speaker Jo Seok-hwan and Vice Speaker Kim Ki-jung, city council members from the international exchange committee, Phoenix officials, LA Consul General Park Kyung-jae, and members of the local Korean community.

The Suwon City delegation will conclude their U.S. visit by attending an Arizona Korean Association dinner meeting to be held in Phoenix at 7 p.m. on the 29th.