Korea and UAE Establish Ministerial Committee to Boost SME and Startup Collaboration
Reading Time: 2 minutesThe Ministry of SMEs and Startups(MSS) of Korea has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the Ministry of Economy of the UAE to establish the Korea-UAE SME Committee.
The signing ceremony took place on the 29th at the Yongsan Presidential Office, with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol in attendance. This MOU builds on President Yoon’s visit to the UAE in January 2023, during which the two ministries initially met to discuss SME and startup cooperation, and it marks a continuation of their close collaboration since then.
In June of last year, Korea’s MSS, together with the UAE Ministry of Economy, hosted a large-scale trade, technology, and investment consultation event called ‘K-business Day in the Middle East’ in the UAE, helping 78 Korean SMEs enter the UAE market. Additionally, in November, more than 100 UAE delegates participated in the UAE national pavilion at the domestic startup festival COMEUP, a first for the event. Earlier this year, a delegation from Korea’s MSS attended INVESTOPIA, a global investment event chaired by UAE’s Minister of Economy, Abdulla Bin Touq Al Marri.
The two ministries have highly valued the results of their collaboration and have decided to establish a regular ministerial consultation body to maintain momentum and expand cooperation in the SME and startup sectors. This is the first time both countries have established a ministerial-level consultation body dedicated to these sectors. The Korea-UAE SME Committee will be co-chaired by the Korean MSS and the UAE Minister of Economy, and will include relevant departments and agencies from both countries. They have committed to holding the first meeting of the SME Committee within this year to regularly and comprehensively review their achievements.
This committee will address various aspects, such as expert and information exchange, institutional cooperation, public-private partnerships, and infrastructure cooperation in the SME and startup sectors. It is expected to provide a platform for mutual exchange and global expansion of SMEs in both countries.
Minister of MSS, Oh Young-joo stated, “The Korea-UAE SME Committee signifies our shared recognition that SMEs and startups are at the core of our economic cooperation, built on the trust established between Korea’s MSS and the UAE’s Ministry of Economy. It is highly meaningful as it is the first ministerial-level consultation body dedicated to the SME and startup sectors in both countries. We will continue to develop this cooperation model to support the successful entry of our SMEs and startups into the Middle East market, focusing our policy capabilities on this goal.”
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