Public Procurement Service to expand cooperation with US

Public Procurement Service (PPS) Administrator Lee Jong-wook, right, shakes hands with U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Commissioner Sonny Hashmi at the PPS' office in Seoul, Thursday. Courtesy of PPS

By Yoon Ja-young

The Public Procurement Service (PPS) will strengthen cooperation with its U.S. counterpart, including the renewal of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the two entities.

PPS Administrator Lee Jong-wook had a meeting with U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) Commissioner Sonny Hashmi at the PPS office in Seoul, Thursday, discussing the development of public procurement services in the two countries and ways to bolster bilateral cooperation.

Since holding their first bilateral cooperation meeting in 2003, the PPS and GSA have been working closely together for the mutual development of public procurement policies, including the signing of an MOU in 2018.

The meeting in Seoul is especially meaningful as it is the first high-level meeting between the central procurement agencies of the two countries since its interruption due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the meeting, Lee stressed the need for close cooperation between the two amid rapidly changing surroundings for public procurement services. He suggested continued discussion for more detailed cooperation measures, including the renewal of the MOU.

They discussed hosting a joint international workshop, based on the Korea Public Procurement Expo held every April and the GSA Expo held in the U.S. They also discussed an exchange of human resources, including training programs, to better share advances in procurement systems such as a next-generation electronic procurement system, pursued by both countries.

“With rapid changes in international surroundings including supply chain reshuffles, it is crucial more than ever to join hands with procurement agencies of other countries,” Lee said.

“We will push for exchanges and cooperation with other leading countries in this field, including Canada, the U.K. and Italy, strengthening global procurement networks continuously,” he added.