Tech, tourism and trade: President's visit to Japan and South Korea highlights Catalonia’s Asian ties

President Salvador Illa's first official trip beyond Europe saw him visit Japan and South Korea this week with the aim of strengthening ties between Catalonia and Asia.

As well as launching Catalan Week at the Osaka World Expo 2025 – celebrating Catalan culture, art, innovation and gastronomy – Illa met with Japanese, South Korean, and Catalan businesses, as well as political leaders, including the Governor of Kyoto Prefecture and the Mayor of Osaka.

President Illa and the Governor of Kyoto Prefecture, Nishiwaki Takatoshi, signed a collaboration agreement on Thursday to strengthen ties and to foster closer relations in technological projects.

The two leaders expressed confidence that the agreement will further boost the development of both regions.

Accompanied by the governor, Illa visited the facilities of ATR (Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International), where he had the opportunity to interact with an android exploring embodied intelligence and interacting with people through non-verbal communication.

During his speech at the event, Illa stated that this agreement was "a source of pride" for Catalonia.

Some of the issues he wants to address with the prefecture are public administration reform to digitize processes, tourism, and culture.

The governor praised the long established "close relationship" with Catalonia and highlighted collaboration regarding smart cities.

He expressed high expectations that this pact will "further boost the development of both regions."

Asian Plan

In Tokyo on Tuesday, President Illa announced that, before the end of the year, the government will approve a strategy to increase Catalonia's presence in Asia.

The 'Asia Plan' aims to analyze Catalonia's current impact in Asia and identify potential new areas to work on, including possibly opening new foreign delegations or offices for Catalonia Trade & Investment (ACCIÓ).

Besides Japan and South Korea, where delegations already exist, China and India are two "important" countries for Catalonia, Illa said.

"We would not be acting responsibly if, at a time of such profound and rapid global changes, we did not pay due attention and analyze how to strengthen and reorganize our presence," he added.

While in Tokyo, Illa met with the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Japanese business leaders.

Among the companies that took part in the meeting were the multinational Fujitsu and the Japanese chemical company KAO, which was the first Japanese company to establish itself in Catalonia back in 1970 and now hosts its European headquarters there, with four chemical plants and six business units.

In Kobe, Illa announced that the Barcelona Supercomputing Center (BSC) and the Riken Center for Computational Science have decided to extend their collaboration agreement for three more years. 

On Friday, the president traveled to South Korea from Japan. In Seoul, he reaffirmed his commitment to the industrial project of the Korean company Lotte Energy Materials in Mont-roig del Camp, southern Catalonia.

Illa visited the company's headquarters and met with its executives in what he described as a "follow-up visit" to ensure that the investment "is moving forward."