Oh Se-hoon Visits Dubai After 17 Years, Moving Beyond 'Creative Administration' to 'Economic Cooperation'

'Creative City Management' Found in Dubai, Now 'Seoul Sales'
Promoting 'Economic Hub Seoul' through 'Dubai Fintech Summit'
Investment Attraction via Invest Seoul-Dubai Chamber of Commerce MOU

Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon visited Dubai, United Arab Emirates (UAE), for the first time in 17 years. Having gained know-how on city management techniques that transformed the desert into a tourist city during his first overseas trip to Dubai after taking office as Seoul mayor in 2007, Mayor Oh is now attending an international event in the UAE to engage in comprehensive investment attraction activities. The aim is to further enhance Seoul's competitiveness on the global stage based on significant memorandums of understanding (MOUs).

Arriving in Dubai on the afternoon of the 5th (local time), Mayor Oh began his five-night, seven-day economic itinerary on the 6th by attending the UAE's representative expo, the 'Dubai Fintech Summit,' held at the Jumeirah Resort in Dubai.

On the 6th (local time), Seoul Mayor Oh Se-hoon meets and greets Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Deputy Prime Minister of the UAE.
[Photo by Seoul Metropolitan Government]

Dubai holds great significance as the overseas city Mayor Oh visited during his first term as mayor. At that time, aligned with his administrative philosophy of 'creative administration,' he toured Dubai's renowned artificial structures such as 'Palm Island,' 'The World,' and 'Dubai Land' to learn innovative policy know-how.

The acceleration of Mayor Oh's 'Design Seoul' policy for 'urban reinvention' began shortly after his visit to Dubai. Seventeen years ago, after returning from his Dubai trip, he expedited the construction of the 'Design Complex' planned for the then Dongdaemun Stadium area and declared Seoul as a 'design hub.'

The goal of this trip is not merely policy sharing but 'Seoul sales.' It aims to promote investment attraction and tourism for Seoul, which has been enhancing its urban competitiveness on the global stage, and to seek practical joint development plans with the UAE. Mayor Oh already delivered a keynote speech at the UAE's 'Dubai Fintech Summit,' presenting the goal that "Seoul's ultimate objective is to become a global top 5 financial hub."

Effective results followed on the first official day alone. Mayor Oh met with Sheikh Maktoum bin Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Deputy Ruler of Dubai and Vice President of the UAE, to share strategies for the digital financial hub centered on Yeouido and Dubai's leading digital finance policies worldwide, agreeing to mutually cooperate in fostering promising companies.

Cooperation between the two cities led to the signing of an MOU. 'Invest Seoul,' Seoul's dedicated investment attraction organization, signed a mutual cooperation agreement with the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry. Going forward, the two institutions will strengthen cooperation not only in corporate investment attraction but also in overseas expansion processes.

The agreement includes detailed plans such as the opening of the Dubai Chamber of Commerce's Seoul office, cooperation in corporate overseas expansion and investment attraction, and exchange of investment attraction programs. Seoul expects that since the Dubai Chamber of Commerce organizes 'Expand North Star'?the largest IT startup exhibition in the Middle East held annually in October?its role as a business platform will be strengthened when Korean companies enter the Middle Eastern market in the future.

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