Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul, left, and Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, who doubles as the president of Governors Association of the Republic of Korea, pose at a hotel in Seoul, Tuesday, after signing a memorandum of understanding on invigorating municipality-level diplomacy. Yonhap

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said Tuesday it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Governors Association of the Republic of Korea (GAROK) on invigorating municipality-level diplomacy. GAROK is an association of mayors and governors of Korea's 17 large cities and provinces.

Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and Busan Mayor Park Heong-joon, who is president of GAROK, signed the MOU during a ceremony on the sidelines of the country's annual conference of overseas diplomatic mission chiefs.

The MOU is aimed at strengthening international exchange and cooperation among local governments, to reflect the global trend of municipalities engaging each other to complement national-level diplomacy.

According to the MOU, the two sides agreed to join efforts to support local small and medium-sized enterprises making entry into overseas markets and create overseas job opportunities for local youth by sharing relevant information.

Also, the two sides will cooperate on assisting domestic and overseas municipalities to sign sisterhood and friendly exchange agreements, and the ministry will support local governments to send delegations for cultural exchanges.

The two sides also agreed on the ministry providing full cooperation to help local government officials participate in education programs run by the Korea National Diplomatic Academy and other affiliated agencies to improve their diplomatic capabilities.

Under the theme of Korea's diplomatic strategy amid a geopolitical transitional period, this year's annual conference of overseas diplomatic mission chiefs kicked off on Monday for its five-day run. A total of 181 ambassadors, consuls general and other heads of diplomatic missions returned home to attend the conference.