CITY OF SAN FERNANDO— Pampanga Gov. Dennis Pineda and officials of Guagua and San Luis on Friday sealed an exchange and cooperation program that included providing workers to Naju City in Jeollanam province in South Korea.
“So Naju and Pampanga are working hard for exchange and cooperation in various fields such as economy, culture and tourism as well as agriculture. I hope the relationship continues,” said Naju City Mayor Yoon Byung-tae, a copy of his speech showed.
Speaking after the signing of a memorandum of understanding at the “Convention on Friendship Exchange and the Introduction oof Seasonal Workers,” San Luis Mayor Jayson Sagum said “we can can attest to [our workers’] abilities and capabilities when it comes to agriculture [because] 92 percent of our land area in our municipality is mainly agriculture.”
Guagua Mayor Anthony Joseph Torres said he was “looking forward to building a mutually beneficial partnership with the officers of Naju.”
Yoon recommended an exchange also in techonolies in energy industries, saying Naju hosts “the core of Korea’s electric power technology such as the Korea Electric Power Corp. “We ask for your unstinting interest and support so that today’s agreement can be faithfully implemented,” the Naju mayor said.
It is the second fruitful outcome of the trade, labor and agriculture mission led by Pineda to help Pampanga recover from the economic slowdown following the COVID-19 pandemic since March 2020.
“Nagsisikap po kami na inyong mga leaders na makahanap ng mga job opportunities sa ating mga kabalen para masuportahan nila ang kanilang mga pamilya sa gitna nang nagpapatuloy na pandemya,” Pineda said.
On Nov. 3, Apalit Mayor Oscar Tetangco Jr., Masantol Mayor Jose Antonio Bustos and Minalin Mayor Philip signed into the Foreign Seasonal Workers Program of Yeongam City, also in Jeollanam province to be able to send farm workers there.
Naju was designated Innovation City before 2007, seeing the relocation there of public agencies involved in energy, IT and communications, agriculture and culture from Seoul. It also hosts reputable schools.