Greater Geelong Deputy Mayor Trent Sullivan and Mayor of South Korea’s Changwon City, Mr Huh Sungmoo have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the two cities at a ceremony at City Hall.
The MOU formalises an agreement to collaborate with Changwon City on trade, education and cultural exchanges, to promote investment and employment opportunities for the two cities.
Located on South Korea’s southeast coast, Changwon City is a known industrial and manufacturing hub that is home to global manufacturers including Hanwha Corporation and its subsidiary Hanwha Defence Australia (HDA).
HDA will provide the Commonwealth Government’s $1-billion Land 8116 project to build and maintain heavy artillery and ammunition resupply vehicles in Geelong.
City of Greater Geelong CEO Martin Cutter joined the Deputy Mayor in welcoming a delegation from Changwon City to Geelong for the signing and exchange of gifts.
Hanwha Defense Corporation CEO Jaeil Sohn, Hanwha Defense Australia’s Managing Director Richard Cho and Deakin University Genevieve Reid, Director of Research Sectorial Partnerships, Government and Industry also attended the ceremony.
The Commonwealth has also selected HDA as one of two companies to supply Land400 tanks to the Australian Defence Force, a contract worth $27 billion over 10 years.
An announcement on the tender is expected this year however Hanwha has announced that its preferred location is Geelong, which would create up to 350 jobs.
The Greater Geelong Council agreed to proceed with a MOU in December last year after a request from Changwon City.
The agreement will be reviewed each year to assess the benefits for both cities.
Councillor Trent Sullivan – Deputy Mayor
The City of Greater Geelong greatly respects Changwon City and is honoured to enter into this agreement.
The Geelong region is very hopeful that this Memorandum of Understanding will bring great benefit for both regions and we believe there will be much to learn from each other.
We see this is an opportunity to build a great relationship with a city that holds many similarities to ours, and that has equally high aspirations of competing on the global stage.
This MOU aligns with the Geelong community’s 30-year vision to be internationally recognised as a ‘clever and creative’ city with a prosperous economy, that supports jobs and education opportunities.
Mr Huh Sungmoo – Changwon City Mayor
Although the cities are physically separated by a great distance, they share similar paths and goals.
I am confident our two cities’ close cooperation will contribute to advancing smarter global society.
Changwon and Geelong have taken a step forward through the signing of an international friendly city agreement, and we hope that we may continue our bilateral exchanges in trade, investment, culture and tourism.
