Premier Christy Clark signed a new three-year action plan with Governor Kim Moon-Soo to mark the five-year anniversary of British Columbia's sister province relationship with Korea's Gyeonggi Province.

The ceremony came on the eve of a large forum in Seoul focused on promoting British Columbia's natural gas potential.

"British Columbia, Gyeonggi and Korea have built a relationship that spans the Pacific and is worth billions of dollars each year," Premier Clark said. "Our renewed commitment to economic co-operation and government-to-government exchange will help us realize our shared goals, including developing British Columbia's natural gas industry to meet Korea's growing demand for clean energy."

This year marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Canada and Korea, and Gyeonggi and British Columbia established their sister-province relationship in May of 2008. The two provinces' new action plan outlines areas for co-operation in priority sectors such as digital media and wireless, agri-foods, and clean energy (for more details, see the attached Backgrounder).

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On Friday, Premier Clark will open the British Columbia-Canada-Korea Natural Gas Forum in Seoul. The full-day event will feature presentations and discussions by decision makers from both sides of the Pacific about liquefied natural gas (LNG) development projects in B.C. and Korea's natural gas and clean energy priorities.

Speakers and presenters will include Minister Yoon Sang-Jick from the Korean Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy; Sohn Yang-hoon, president of Korea Energy Economics Institute; Tom Sigurdson, executive director, BC and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council; and Ellis Ross, chair of the Aboriginal Business and Investment Council and chief councillor of the Haisla Nation, which is involved in a variety of LNG projects in the Kitimat area.

Korea imports 96 per cent of its energy and is the world's second largest importer of LNG. It has been actively pursuing new natural gas opportunities in British Columbia, including the Korea Gas Corporation's partnership in LNG Canada, a joint venture to build and operate a liquefaction facility and export terminal in the Northwest.

Quick Facts:

• Located at the centre of the Korean Peninsula and surrounding the capital of Seoul, Gyeonggi is Korea's most populous province with 12 million people. It accounts for one-fifth of the country's GDP and exports and is home to world-leading companies such as Samsung, Hyundai-Kia and LG.
• Korea is British Columbia's fourth-largest export market. From January to September this year, B.C. exported $1.3 billion worth of goods to Korea, an increase of 129 per cent compared to the same period a decade ago.
• The 2013 Jobs and Trade Mission is being supported by British Columbia's international trade and investment network throughout Asia. British Columbia's trade and investment office in Seoul provides customized support for B.C. businesses and communities as we expand markets for our goods and services and attract new investment.

Learn More:

The BC Newsroom has live updates from #TM13 here: http://www.newsroom.gov.bc.ca/2013/10/growing-markets-in-asia-and-promoting-investment-in-british-columbia---trade-missions.html

You can also follow the 2013 trade mission using www.BritishColumbia.ca, the Province's international-facing website, its Twitter feed at https://twitter.com/BCTradeInvest and on LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/company/trade-&-invest-british-columbia

Two backgrounders follow.

Contacts:

Sam Oliphant
Press Secretary
Office of the Premier
250 952-7252

Blair Phelps
Communications Director
Ministry of International Trade And Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism
250 356-7104

BACKGROUNDER 1

British Columbia-Canada-Korea Natural Gas Forum
Seoul, Korea
November 29, 2013

9:30 - 10 a.m. Opening Session

Opening Address

Christy Clark, Premier of British Columbia

Welcome Address

Sonn, Yang-hoon, President of Korea Energy Economics Institute (KEEI)

Congratulatory Address

H.E. Minister Yoon, Sang-jick, Ministry of Trade, Industry & Energy, Korea

10 - 10:45 a.m. Progress on British Columbia Natural Gas Opportunities

British Columbia's Natural Gas and LNG Strategies

Paul Jeakins, Chief Executive Officer, British Columbia Oil and Gas Commission

Business Perspectives on BC LNG Development

Andy Calitz, Vice President, Shell Canada

Chief Ellis Ross, Chair of the Aboriginal Business and Investment Council

11 - 11:30 a.m. Update on Korea's Natural Gas Priorities

Korea's International Natural Gas Market Priorities

Park, Jin Ho, Research Fellow, KEEI

Korea's Natural Gas Development Projects in BC

Kim, Jongjin, Vice President, LNG Project Business Department, KOGAS

11:30 - 12:10 a.m. Opportunities in British Columbia's LNG Supply Chain

BuyBC Program

Dave Byng, Deputy Minister, B.C. Ministry of Jobs, Tourism and Skills Training

Labour for LNG Infrastructure Development

Tom Sigurdson, Executive Director, BC and Yukon Building and Construction Trades Council

Energy Infrastructure for LNG Exports

Rob Whitwham, Vice President, Spectra Energy

12:30 - 1:30 p.m. BC-Korea Corporate Lunch

2 - 3:30 p.m. Technical Session

Speakers:

Ellis Ross, Chair of the B.C. Aboriginal Business and Investment Council

Taylor Cross, Deputy Chief, Haisla First Nation

Paul Jeakins, Oil and Gas Commission

Doug Little, BC Hydro

Hosted by Steve Carr, deputy minister, B.C. Ministry of Natural Gas Development

Contact:

Media Relations
Ministry of International Trade And Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism
250 356-7104

Gyeonggi-British Columbia Sister Province Agreement

Action Plan for 2013 to 2016

To mark the occasion of the fifth anniversary of the sister-province relationship, Gyeonggi Province of the Republic of Korea and the Province of British Columbia of Canada have jointly decided to build on the successes of their first Action Plan (2010-2012) and strengthen co-operation between the two regions with the signing of a second Action Plan (2013-2016).

Highlights of the Sister Province relationship of the past two years include:

• Trade missions by Gyeonggi Governor Kim Moon-Soo to British Columbia in 2011 and British Columbia Premier Christy Clark to Gyeonggi Province in 2012.
• Gyeonggi's first Exchange Officer, in British Columbia from January 2012-June 2013, worked to identify business opportunities between Gyeonggi and British Columbia, and completed a report on lessons learned from British Columbia's Olympic experience.
• Gyeonggi's second Exchange Officer arrived in British Columbia on Oct. 7, 2013.
• British Columbia participation in the 2012 Seoul Food and Hotel Show held in Kintex, Gyeonggi.
• British Columbia participation in the Good Game Show in Kintex, Gyeonggi, with visits by the Governor of Gyeonggi and to the British Columbia pavilion and networking reception.
• British Columbia delegation participation in the Korea International Boat Show in 2011, 2012 and 2013.

In the coming years, Gyeonggi and British Columbia are committed to continuing to promote economic and government-to-government cooperation and exchange under the second action plan in the fields of clean energy, digital media and wireless, agri-foods, marine leisure, and personnel exchanges and market development co-operation:

1. Clean Energy

The Participants will jointly identify opportunities for collaboration in the field of clean energy by:

• Encouraging reciprocal participation in international conferences and trade shows, such as Globe (British Columbia).
• Exchanging market information and facilitating matchmaking between Gyeonggi and British Columbia companies.
• Encouraging continued cooperative contact between clean energy companies and industries in the respective regions.

2. Digital Media and Wireless

The Participants will encourage cooperative links between companies and organizations in the field of digital media and wireless by:

• Encouraging participation in the annual Good Game Show (Korea), Siggraph 2014 (British Columbia), and the Game Developers Conference (British Columbia).
• Exchanging market information and news on digital media (video games, animation, film, and e-learning) and wireless industry, and facilitating matchmaking between Gyeonggi and British Columbia companies.
• Encouraging cooperative relations between Digital Media and Wireless organizations, such as Gyeonggi Digital Contents Agency, DigiBC, Creative BC, Game Developers Conference (GDC) Canada, and Vancouver International Film Festival (VIFF).

3. Agri-foods

The Participants will encourage co-operative links between companies and organizations and facilitate the exploration of business opportunities in the field of agri-foods by:

• Exchanging market information and news on agrifoods opportunities in Gyeonggi and British Columbia and facilitating matchmaking between companies in the respective regions.

4. Marine Leisure Industry

The Participants will jointly identify opportunities for sustainable business growth in the field of marine leisure and encourage cooperative relations between organizations and companies in the respective regions by:

• Encouraging participation in the annual Vancouver International Boat Show each February and the Korea International Boat Show each June.
• Exchanging market information and news on the marine leisure and boating equipment industries and facilitating matchmaking between Gyeonggi and British Columbia companies.
• Encouraging continued cooperative contact between marine leisure and boating companies and industries in the respective regions.

5. Personnel Exchanges and Market Development Cooperation

The Participants will identify opportunities for personnel exchange to improve mutual understanding and solidarity between the respective regions, and to explore market development opportunities by:

• Promoting personnel exchanges between the two regions.
• Exchanging market information, news and identifying business opportunities between Gyeonggi and British Columbia companies.

6. Responsibilities

The organizations designated to co-ordinate the activities specified in this Action Plan are the International Affairs & Trade Division of the Economy & Investment Promotion Office, Gyeonggi Provincial Government, and the British Columbia Intergovernmental Relations Secretariat and the Ministry of International Trade. The organizations will convene annually to review and assess progress under the action plan and identify further opportunities to promote exchange and co-operation between Gyeonggi and British Columbia.

Contact:

Media Relations
Ministry of International Trade
Minister Responsible for the Asia Pacific Strategy and Multiculturalism
250 356-7104