The second Middle East boom continues… Expanding cooperation between small and medium-sized ventures with the United Arab Emirates (UAE)
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (Minister Oh Young-joo) and Lee Dae-hee, Director of the Small and Medium Business Policy Office and Korean businessmen attended Investopia, a global investment event held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE). It was announced that small and medium-sized venture cooperation between the two countries has been strengthened, including by discussing the establishment of a ministerial-level consultative body for the small and medium-sized venture sector.
‘Investopia’ is a global investment platform launched in 2021, and holds international events every year for investors, innovative companies, and government personnel to connect the 12 major innovation sectors* in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and advance into the local market. .
The Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ participation in ‘Investopia’ is a follow-up to the memorandum of understanding on small and medium-sized venture cooperation signed under Im Seok-ha, the leader of the two countries, in January 2023, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups’ visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) last year (June) and Almari Arab This was made visible through the bilateral meeting between the two ministers when the Emirates (UAE) Minister of Economy attended ComeUp (November).
At ‘Investopia’ on the 28th (local time), two memorandums of understanding on Korea-United Arab Emirates (UAE) innovative start-up business exchanges and cooperation in venture investment were signed in the presence of both governments and Korean Ambassador to the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ryu Je-seung. concluded. In addition, a networking session ‘Cross-Border Collaboration: Bridging Korea-Arab’ was held between the UAE ‘Future 100’ companies and Korean small and medium-sized enterprises and investors, jointly hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the UAE Ministry of Economy. ‘Cross-Border Collaboration: Bridging Korea-UAE Collaboration for Future Economy’ was also successfully operated.
In addition, Daehee Lee, Director of the Small and Medium Business Policy Office, met in person with Minister of Economy of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Almari on the 28th and discussed ways to cooperate in the small and medium-sized venture business sector between the two countries. Director Lee proposed the establishment of a ministerial-level consultative body for the small and medium-sized venture sector to strengthen cooperation between the two countries in small and medium-sized ventures, and decided to hold working-level discussions with the Ministry of Economy.
Director Daehee Lee held a meeting with Korean businessmen operating in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and visited the export consultation event ‘K-Business Day in Middle East 2024′ and listened to various on-site events. At the meeting, we listened to companies’ success experiences and difficulties, and discussed ways to support the globalization of companies and small and medium-sized venture companies.
Meanwhile, 19 Korean small and medium-sized companies attended this export consultation held in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE) for two days on the 27th and 29th. Companies met with an average of 15 buyers, and 5 export contracts and 6 memorandums of understanding with a total value of 1.45 million were signed.
In particular, in Dubai, in addition to the 61 pre-connected (matched) buyers, a significant number of additional buyers (buyers) visited the site, and business consultations were held beyond the scheduled time, raising concerns about Korean companies. We were able to confirm the keen interest from the Middle East region.
Lee Dae-hee, head of the Small and Medium Business Policy Department, said, “After the summit diplomacy, the two governments are joining forces to expand small and medium-sized venture exchange and cooperation between Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE).” He added, “Attending this ‘Investopia’ is an opportunity to “As we have deeper experience in the small and medium-sized venture ecosystem, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups will provide support to further expand exchanges between the two countries so that the second Middle East boom can continue,” he said.
Editor James
