By Diplomacy Journal  Kayla Lee 

Seoul City Mayor Oh Se-hoon met with Saia Ma'u Piukala, the new Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for the Western Pacific, at his office on May 20, to share in-depth discussions on building a global healthy society.
 

Piukala, formerly the Minister of Health of Tonga, took over as the Director of the WHO Regional Office for the Western Pacific, one of the six WHO regional offices (Europe, Pan-America, Eastern Mediterranean, Africa, Western Pacific, and Southeast Asia) on February 1, and chose Korea as his first overseas visit.

Mayor Oh expressed his hope that the two organizations will work together to create a global healthy society and invited the Director-General of the World Health Organization (WHO) and other officials to attend the World Congress of the League of Healthy Cities to be held in Seoul in September to share their opinions on strategies for responding to infectious diseases in cities around the world and for human health.

Seoul City will host the 10th World Congress of the Federation of Healthy Cities from Sept. 25-27 at Dongdaemun Design Plaza (DDP) under the theme of 'Smart Healthy Cities, the Future of New Cities'. 

More than 1,000 participants from 240 members of the Alliance for Healthy Cities (AFHC) (189 cities and 51 organizations), the World Health Organization (WHO), and mayors of the world's major cities are expected to attend.

"Countries in the Western Pacific have different populations and sizes, as well as different health issues, so we plan to visit each country for consultations," said Mr. Piukala, adding, "We look forward to working closely with Seoul in the future."