Cheonan City has launched its own dedicated exhibition space, the "Cheonan Pavilion," at the world's largest smart city expo in Barcelona, Spain, marking a full-scale push to support local innovative enterprises in entering the global market and expanding international cooperation.

On November 3 (local time), the city held the opening ceremony for the Cheonan Pavilion at the Smart City Expo World Congress (SCEWC 2026), hosted at the Fira Gran Via exhibition center in Barcelona.

The opening ceremony drew key figures, including Cheonan Mayor Jang Ki-su, representatives from participating local companies, and a student supporter group composed of students from Dankook University and Korea University of Technology and Education (KOREATECH).

Showcasing Local Innovation and Global Partnerships

Inside the Cheonan Pavilion, promising regional companies specializing in artificial intelligence (AI) and smart cities showcased their cutting-edge technologies and products. The city is actively backing these participants by providing exhibition operations, interpretation services, and customized buyer consultations to help them secure overseas sales channels and discover global partnership opportunities.

A major highlight of the event was a four-way Letter of Intent (LOI) signed between Cheonan City, Korea University of Technology and Education, Germany's Dresden University of Technology Institute of Knowledge Architecture, and Hamburg HafenCity University's Digital City Science. The agreement focuses on the joint development, demonstration, and dissemination of AI-driven urban innovation technologies. Through this framework, the institutions aim to build a robust cooperative network between South Korea and Germany, laying the groundwork for international joint research and practical technical validation projects.

International Networking and Future Industries

Following the opening ceremony, Mayor Jang visited the joint pavilions of Sweden and Germany to exchange insights on smart city innovation technologies and discuss industrial and technological collaboration with local municipal and corporate leaders.

Mayor Jang also held a meeting with French government officials to introduce Cheonan's current status as an AI-specialized city and its core smart city policies, exploring potential collaboration in sustainable urban development and future transportation.

Continuing the momentum, the city delegation is engaging with representatives from major European cities and institutions—including France, Spain, and Finland—to share strategies on urban data utilization, smart mobility testing, and citizen-centric urban innovation policies.

On November 5, Mayor Jang is scheduled to meet with Choi Young-joon, Global Robotics and Physical AI Leader at EY, a major global accounting and consulting firm. The discussion will cover industrial applications and the latest trends in physical AI technology, exploring ways to integrate these advancements into Cheonan's future industry development and smart city policies.

"It is deeply meaningful to showcase Cheonan's outstanding technological prowess at the world's largest smart city expo and to help our local enterprises discover new opportunities in overseas markets," Mayor Jang stated. "By broadening our foundation of cooperation with global cities and corporations through this expo, we will continue to develop Cheonan into an AI-driven, futuristic, and advanced smart city."

[Copyright (c) Global Economic Times. All Rights Reserved.]