BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FINANCE/GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE INFORMATION ITEM. Countywide

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1 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS FINANCE/GOVERNMENT OPERATIONS AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT COMMITTEE INFORMATION ITEM Date of Meeting: # 3 SUBJECT: ELECTION DISTRICT: STAFF CONTACTS: Annual Update on Loudoun s Sister City Program Countywide Caleb Weitz, County Administration Buddy Rizer, Executive Director, Economic Development PURPOSE: The item provides the Finance/Government Operations and Economic Development Committee (FGOEDC) an annual update on Loudoun County s sister city program activities. BACKGROUND: On July 5, 2016, the Board of Supervisors (Board) voted (8-0-1: Meyer absent) to approve criteria for and process for administration of sister city relationships. 1 On September 22, 2016, the Board voted (6-0-3: Higgins, Randall and Saines absent) to adopt criteria for an active sister city or partnership relationships 2 and to designate the following sister cities as active relationships: Main-Taunus-Kreis, Germany has a population of around 230,000 and lies within the greater Frankfurt metropolitan region. Sixty-percent of Main-Taunus-Kreis is agricultural and forest land and has active agricultural sectors including fruit, wine, and cheese production. In addition, with its close proximity to major German transport hubs (Frankfurt Airport, the Frankfurter Kreuz interstate interchange, and Frankfurt Central Station), it also has a commercial sector with 17,300 registered companies and is home to global operations of companies like Coca-Cola, Procter & Gamble, Samsung, and Deutsche Bank. Educational, cultural and staff exchange programs have taken place with Main-Taunus- Kreis. Goyang City, South Korea has a population of around one million residents and is located north of Seoul, the capital of South Korea. Goyang City has a thriving agricultural economy and growing tourism industry. Additionally, Goyang is home to Korean broadcasting companies. Goyang City is also proximate to the upcoming 2018 Winter Olympics. Educational and staff exchange programs have taken place with Goyang City. 1 July 5, 2016 Item 10b, FGOEDC Report: Overview of Loudoun s Sister City Program 2 September 22, 2016 Item 19h, FGOEDC Report: Active Sister City and Partnership Agreements

2 Page 2 Gangneung City, South Korea (Friendship Agreement) is a port city on the east coast of South Korea, with a population of 230,000. Gangneung is the economic center of the Yeongdong region of Gangwon Province. The Korean Air Force is based in Gangneung, and the air base formerly doubled as a civilian airport. Gangneung also will host many of the indoor events at the 2018 Winter Olympics. New Taipei, Taiwan has an estimated population of over 3.9 million and is situated in the northern part of Taiwan surrounding the country s capital, New Taipei City, Banqiao District. The region s major industries include tourism, technology and government services. Shunyi District, China is part of the capital city of Beijing, and has a population of approximately 1,000,000 people. The Beijing Capital International Airport is surrounded by Shunyi, and the primary economic clusters are Aviation, Information Technology, and Agriculture, closely mirroring Loudoun County. Shunyi was also the site of the rowing, canoeing, and kayaking competitions for the 2008 Olympic Games. The Board s adopted criteria for active sister city relationships includes one or more of the following elements: Recent or planned delegation visits of elected officials. Recent or planned student exchanges. Recent or planned cultural exchanges. Current collaboration on economic development prospects or leads. Staff exchanges or other collaborative information sharing. Update on Activities Listed below is an update on activities related to the sister city program over the past year. Caleb Weitz, Chief of Staff, Office of the County Administrator, serves as the County s primary staff point of contact with the County s active sister cities to facilitate communication between respective elected officials and staff. The Department of Economic Development (DED) continues to pursue business development opportunities utilizing the County s active sister city relationships. Staff is not recommending any changes to the designation of sister cities as active relationships. It is staff s opinion that current or future activity allows each sister city relationship to continue to qualify as active under the Board s adopted criteria. Main-Taunus-Kreis, Germany In April 2017, Chair Randall, Beth Erickson (Visit Loudoun CEO), Rick Morris (DED Business Development Officer) and Robert McCollar (DED International Business Development Manager) visited Main-Taunus-Kreis (MTK) to recognize the 10 th anniversary of our Sister City agreement Loudoun s longest Sister City partnership. The trip allowed Chair Randall to strengthen her relationship with MTK Mayor who had just won re-election. The trip also featured a dinner meeting with local elected officials where there was a discussion of best practices and partnership

3 Page 3 opportunities. Business development activity comprised of meetings with local businesses including an advanced manufacturing company. Visit Loudoun held meetings with tourism officials in the Greater Frankfurt area. DED leveraged the MTK visit to participate in a key industrial trade show (Hannover Messe 2017) and conduct other business development meetings in Germany. MTK has a well-established student exchange program with Loudoun that is administered by the George C. Marshall International Center. In 2016, 16 MTK high school students traveled to Loudoun and 10 Loudoun County Public Schools (LCPS) high school students traveled to MTK. In 2017, 15 MTK high school students traveled to Loudoun and 12 LCPS high school students traveled to MTK. The exchange programs offered students the opportunity to have career experiences with local business, non-profits and government agencies. As part to of the 2016 and 2017 MTK exchange visits to Loudoun, Chair Randall hosted the students at the Loudoun County Government Center for a tour of the Boardroom and an educational session on the County government. Goyang City, South Korea In May 2016 Chair Randall, Buddy Rizer (DED Executive Director) and Robert McCollar visited Goyang City. This trip was Chair Randall s introduction and first meeting with Goyang City s Mayor and City Council. Chair Randall was a featured speaker at Goyang Global High School, which has since started a Sister High School program with Freedom High School. In return, 60+ students, teachers and staff from our sister city of Goyang has visited Freedom High school in July 2016 and DED leveraged the trip with more than 15 meetings with Korean business in the Seoul area that had an interest in the U.S. market. In June 2017, Chair Randall, Beth Erickson and Robert McCollar again visited Goyang City. Education was the major focus of this trip and included Chair Randall delivering a keynote speech at Goyang Global High School. The communities also initiated a school book exchange which continued during the Goyang City official visit to Loudoun November 8, In a ceremony with Chair Randall, Goyang visitors will be exchanging 30 books during an event at Rust Library. Gangneung City, South Korea In May 2017 Chair Randall, Beth Erickson and Robert McCollar visited Gangneung City. This was an introductory trip for Chair Randall and her counterpart in Gangneung City, which will be hosting many events during the 2018 Olympic Winter Games in Pyeongchang. The Loudoun delegation met with local city officials to discuss the economic impact of the Olympic Games and potential partnership opportunities. Chair Randall participated in several civic and cultural events. As a result of this trip, County staff and Visit Loudoun are collaborating to provide current materials for a sister city display case located in Gangneung City s Government Center in advance of the 2018 Olympic Winter Games. In August 2017 Chair Randall filmed a congratulatory video for Gangneung City in honor of their 62 nd annual Citizens Day. In October 2017, Gangneung City sent approximately 30 students to participate in Loudoun s Kick the Cancer event which raised significant money for cancer research and support. This charity was started by Loudoun s Grandmaster Eung Gil Choi following

4 Page 4 the loss of his father to the disease. Supervisor Kristin Umstattd and The Town of Leesburg Mayor Kelly Burk also attended and supported this event. The students also visited the Loudoun County Government Center for an educational session on the County s government with Chair Randall. New Taipei, Taiwan In September 2016 Robert McCollar visited New Taipei in order to participate in the SelectUSA roadshow focused on opportunities for U.S. economic development organizations to meet with representatives from Taiwan s IT, semiconductor, and renewable energy industries clusters in order to promote the US and Loudoun as a place for technology businesses. In March 2017 Chair Randall hosted New Taipei Deputy Mayor Shu-chuan Lee at the Loudoun County Government Center. Chair Randall and Deputy Mayor Lee discussed strengthening sister city activities. In June 2017 Robert McCollar met locally with New Taipei officials on economic development opportunities. This included a multinational electronics company, and a major semi-conductor company. Shunyi District, China In May 2016 Chair Randall, Buddy Rizer, Robert McCollar and Mark Treadaway (Metropolitan Washington Airports Authority (MWAA)) visited Shunyi District. This trip was highlighted by the signing of the Sister Airport agreement between Washington Dulles International Airport and Beijing International Capital Airport (which competes with Atlanta s Hartfield Airport as the busiest airport in the world). In addition to the signing agreement, an unveiling at Beijing International Capital Airport provided an impressive Loudoun display, which helped create additional awareness of Washington Dulles International Airport and promote visitors to Loudoun. The trip was Chair Randall s introduction to the mayor and city council and featured a school tour and a discussion about different educational practices within each county. The Loudoun delegation also met with the U.S. Embassy to discuss various projects coming to the U.S. and held business meetings with companies in our targeted industry clusters. In conjunction with the Changsu Tech Forum and Shanghai Consumer Electronics show, Robert McCollar met with officials from the Shunyi District in September The meetings provided important follow-up with MWAA and the Sister Airport Forum, which was a required next step generated from the Sister Airport agreement. Other business development activity included meetings with the U.S. Embassy and recruitment discussions with a Chinese medical research company interested in partnering with a Loudoun company and a Loudoun research facility (Howard Hughes Medical Institute Janelia Research Campus). DED also met with a Chinese flight school interested in partnering with communities and universities in Northern Virginia. In May 2017 Robert McCollar visited with Shunyi District officials following the trip to Gangneung City, Korea and met with the U.S. Embassy and a businesses interested in expansion into the U.S. The visit include follow-up visits with previous targeted companies including the flight school. During 2016 and 2017 students from Freedom and Stone Bridge High Schools visited Beijing No. 50 and No. 108 High Schools in Shunyi District as part of an educational exchange program. Students from the Beijing school paid a reciprocal visit to Loudoun County in the same time period.

5 Page 5 FISCAL IMPACT: A $5,000 fund has been established in the Board s corporate budget for expenses associated with official County business regarding active sister city and partnership relationships.