The Gyeonggi Province delegation headed by Governor Nam Kyung-pil is visiting Greece and Italy between February 28 and March 7 (six nights/eight days) to discuss how to invigorate the province’s marine industry and establish a hub of social economy.

On the first leg of the itinerary, Governor Nam Kyung-pil is scheduled to sign an agreement for a joint venture aimed at invigorating the province’s marine industry with Cosmos Yachting of Greece on March 2, in conjunction with the plan for the establishment of a yacht marina in the Jeongok Marine Industrial Park, Hwaseong. On March 1, the delegation headed by Governor Nam will pay a visit to the Flisvos Marina in Athens and the Yachts Marina in Heraklion to observe how the marine industry operates in Greece.

On March 3, the delegation will move on to Italy, a country known for its social cooperatives, to gain hands-on experience of exemplary cases of social economy. In Italy, Mr. Nam Kyung-pil will meet with Professor Stefano Zamagni of the University of Bologna, a world-famous scholar specializing in social economy, and discuss ways of invigorating Gyeonggi’s social economy and the role of social cooperatives.

Mr. Nam Kyung-pil will also pay a visit to Bologna Coordination Commission (BCC), which is said to be a leading example of social economy, to observe how it is operated. BCC is an association of credit cooperatives comprising 22 banks, 376 branches and 3,019 employees, and currently has around 700,000 customers.

In Italy, the delegation will engage in activities designed to attract investors to projects carried out by the province. On March 6, Governor Nam will hold an IR session addressing the directors of more than ten prestigious Italian businesses, including GESSI, a renowned architectural materials supplier, in Rome. At the IR session, Governor Nam will explain Gyeonggi Province’s favorable investment environment including its talented R&D human resources and large number of well-positioned industrial complexes, as well as the local government’s eagerness to provide customized administrative services.

The delegation’s itinerary also includes local diplomacy activities. During the visit, Mr. Nam Kyung-pil will meet with Panagiotis Lafazanis, the Minister of Productive Reconstruction, Environment to discuss such matters as how to resolve the current financial crisis faced by Greece and how to promote cooperation between the two countries in the future.

Mr. Nam Kyung-pil will also pay visits to high-ranking officials such as the Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs (Italy), the Director of the Department of Economic Development, and the Mayor of Heraklion, who are in charge of the economic affairs of Italy and Greece, and discuss matters relating to the creation of jobs, invigoration of the social economy, and sustainable growth.