Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority and Swiss Basel Investment Board Strengthen Bio Global Partnership

On the 18th, the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority announced that it invited government officials from the Basel region in Switzerland, Europe's top bio cluster, and the Basel Investment Agency to discuss cooperation plans with the Songdo Bio Cluster.

The meeting was attended by Kaspar Sutter, Economic Minister of the Basel Regional Government, Alan Beyer, Deputy Head of the Swiss Trade and Investment Agency, and Christoph Klopfer, CEO of the Basel Investment Agency.

Both sides introduced their achievements and plans as representative bio clusters of Europe and Asia, respectively, and discussed the need to establish a cooperative system including sharing know-how on attracting and nurturing companies and building a global network for resident companies.

Currently, the Basel Investment Agency is promoting various external cooperation projects as support programs for the continuous growth of resident companies. Recently, noting the growth and potential of the Korean bio industry, they visited Korea and came to Songdo at the invitation of the Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority.

Basel is one of Switzerland's three major cities along with Zurich and Geneva. It borders France and Germany and has led the chemical and pharmaceutical industries for over 200 years.

Currently, it hosts about 700 pharmaceutical and bio company headquarters including the world-renowned University of Basel, Novartis, Roche, and Lonza, and is established as Europe's top bio cluster with approximately 32,000 life science professionals residing there.

The Basel Investment Agency was established by the governments of Basel-Stadt, Basel-Landschaft, and Jura cantons, where Basel is located, aiming to develop the life sciences industry. It carries out projects to attract domestic and foreign companies and nurture small and venture businesses. Representative initiatives include providing office and research facilities for companies, location consulting, and startup support and incubation projects.

Songdo continues to grow as a global bio cluster.

Currently, leading domestic bio companies such as Samsung BioLogics, Celltrion, and SK Bioscience are all expanding or building new facilities in Songdo, and national-level industrial development projects such as the Bio Process Training Center and K-Bio Lab Hub are underway.

Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority in G Tower, Songdo International City [Photo by Incheon Free Economic Zone Authority]

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.