KOTRA Continues the 'New Middle East Boom' in Saudi Arabia

Third Korea-Middle East Shuttle Economic Cooperation Group Linked Consultation Meeting Held in Riyadh on the 11th
30 Domestic Companies Participating in Smart Farm, Food, and Plant Equipment Sectors

KOTRA announced on the 12th that it held the 'Korea-Saudi Business Consultation Meeting' linked to the '3rd Korea-Middle East Shuttle Economic Cooperation Group' in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

The 'Korea-Middle East Shuttle Economic Cooperation Group,' promoted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, dispatches sector-specific public-private joint cooperation teams to major Middle Eastern countries to review the implementation of the tour results and seek additional cooperation. So far, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, and other ministries have formed cooperation groups twice, and the third cooperation group was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, with the Vice Minister of the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs dispatched as the head.

At the consultation meeting, 30 Korean companies in the fields of ▲smart farms ▲food ▲plant equipment and more than 50 Saudi buyers and investment companies participated, conducting over 200 one-on-one business consultations. A tasting event of agricultural products, including cherry tomatoes grown in smart farms, was also held at the consultation venue.

Since announcing the national development plan 'Saudi Vision 2030' in 2016, Saudi Arabia has been concentrating financial resources on 13 strategic sectors centered on the Saudi Public Investment Fund (PIF). Recently, with the growing importance of food security, about 20 billion riyals (approximately 5.3 billion USD) have been invested in an agricultural development fund solely for the agriculture sector to support ▲the introduction of smart agricultural technologies ▲purchase of agricultural and livestock equipment ▲human resource development, nurturing agriculture as a core strategic sector. Large-scale urban infrastructure projects such as the well-known 'NEOM' have steadily increased local demand for plant equipment, and various projects such as upgrading petrochemical plant facilities and establishing electric vehicle production plants are underway.

Yang Gi-mo, head of KOTRA's Middle East Regional Headquarters, said, "Through the shuttle economic cooperation group, in-depth consultations by sector are taking place, and local buyers are showing much more trust," adding, "We will continue to make efforts so that the enthusiasm of the 'New Middle East Boom' ignited by the tour spreads throughout the Middle East region and leads to 'export plus' through close cooperation with related domestic and international ministries and organizations."

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