Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ministry of SMEs and Startups, and Korea Federation of SMEs Join Forces to Support Exporting Small and Medium Enterprises

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The Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Korea Federation of SMEs are preparing policies to support the global expansion of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

On the 22nd, Oh Young-joo, Minister of SMEs and Startups, and Cho Tae-yeol, Minister of Foreign Affairs, held a meeting with Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, and representatives of over 20 export-oriented SMEs at the Korea Federation of SMEs. This meeting was organized to explore ways to resolve export difficulties and facilitate smooth entry into global markets through collaboration between the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

On this day, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Korea Federation of SMEs signed a tripartite Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) to strengthen support for export SMEs and agreed to enhance mutual support and solidarity while advancing cooperation. The main contents of the MOU include ▲support for SMEs’ overseas expansion ▲support for building networks with local businesspeople ▲cooperation related to major international conferences ▲exchange of economic information, among others.

During the meeting, many opinions were expressed requesting support for the globalization of SMEs by utilizing the Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ areas of responsibility, such as the operation of overseas diplomatic missions. Additionally, six urgent issues were discussed, including ▲operation of dedicated SME service desks within embassies of major countries ▲support for revitalizing networks of SMEs operating locally ▲fast-track visa issuance for foreign workers by overseas diplomatic missions, among others.

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs responded that they would form a one-team system to support SME globalization by bringing together overseas diplomatic missions, KOTRA, KOICA, and other support organizations, as well as banks and law firms operating overseas.

Both ministers emphasized that they would lead sales diplomacy to expand SME exports. They also promised to break down inter-ministerial barriers to seek collaborative measures and implement policies that can be tangibly felt on the ground.

Minister Oh Young-joo stated, "Global expansion of SMEs is key to overcoming the low-growth crisis. We plan to establish a system that supports SME global expansion by building a collaborative system among various SME support organizations in both public and private sectors domestically and internationally."

Minister Cho Tae-yeol said, "Our overseas diplomatic missions will strengthen field-oriented support by acting as sales representatives for SMEs, utilizing their local information-gathering capabilities and negotiation skills to provide market trend information and legal advice."

Kim Ki-moon, Chairman of the Korea Federation of SMEs, emphasized, "Recently, SMEs have been going through difficult times due to the global economic downturn and domestic recession, so government policy support is necessary. We ask that the 167 overseas diplomatic missions worldwide become sales representatives for SMEs, actively promoting excellent SME products and supporting globalization."

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