○ Governor Terry McAuliffe pays a visit to Gyeonggi Province on October 28 in return for Governor Nam Kyung-pil’s visit to Virginia in July
○ On the last leg of his tour of four Asian countries
○ Gyeonggi Province: “We will push through with more efficient ways of exchanges through the launch of the joint council for policy discussion”

The Gyeonggi Province and the Virginia State agreed to establish a six-person joint council that will meet regularly. Thus, the two are expected to expand collaborative exchanges.

Gyeonggi Governor Nam Kyung-pil and Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe signed an agreement for the launch of a policy discussion council in a ceremony held at the Gyeonggi Province on October 28 at 11:00.

Under the agreement, the two offices will hold regular meetings of the six-person (three from each) council for mutual collaboration in trade, investment, technology, culture, human exchanges, and information/communication sectors. The two sides appointed – as joint chairs of the council – Mr. Choi Hyeon-deok, officer in charge of Economy and Investment of the Gyeonggi Province, and Virginia Commerce and Trade Secretary Maurice Jones, who served as Deputy Secretary for the US Department of Housing and Urban Development.

The Virginia State is a hub of the data industry where more than half of the world’s Internet communications go through. The Gyeonggi Province hopes to obtain assistance for the Big-Fi Project being promoted by Governor Nam Kyung-pil from Virginia through said agreement and expects the launch of the joint council to facilitate policy discussions and exchanges.
 
Mr. Terry McAuliffe’s visit to Gyeonggi-do was in response to the official invitation made by Mr. Nam Kyung-pil during his visit to the United States last July. At that time, Governor Nam Kyung-pil suggested that his counterpart in Virginia pay a visit to Gyeonggi-do, and the two set up a nice investment plan, citing the fact that his province is an area where leading businesses of South Korea like Samsung, Hyundai, Kia, and those specializing in information technology are doing business.

Governor Terry McAuliffe came to Korea on the last leg of his tour of four Asian countries, i.e., Japan, China, Hong Kong, and South Korea, which started on October 19. He paid a courtesy visit to Park Geun-hye, the President of the Republic of Korea on October 27. On October 28, he, together with Governor Nam Kyung-pil, paid a visit to Prime Minister Jung Hong-won and discussed matters of mutual concern.

 “The two sides have maintained exchanges and collaboration for more than 17 years since the establishment of sisterly ties in April 1997. The agreement signed by the two sides this time is significant since it will facilitate substantial exchanges and collaboration between the two sides,” a Gyeonggi Province official said in reaction to Governor Terry McAuliffe’s visit.

Governor Terry McAuliffe was sworn in as Virginia Governor in January this year. During the election campaign, he promised to mark the East Sea together with the Sea of Japan on textbooks used in the state. He attracted attention for becoming the first governor of the United States to sign the “East Sea” bill on March 30. As such, it became compulsory for all textbooks used in public schools of Virginia to place “East Sea” together with the Sea of Japan, effective July 1, 2014. Mr. Terry McAuliffe is scheduled to fly back to the United States on October 29.