Establishment of Korea-UAE SME and Venture Committee... Information Exchange and Infrastructure Cooperation

MOU Signed at Meeting with Both Leaders Present
Minister of SMEs and Startups and UAE Minister of Economy as Chairs

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on the 29th that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) Ministry of Economy to establish a Small and Medium Venture Committee.

President Yoon Suk-yeol and President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are looking at the attendees, including members of the Ark Unit and the children's welcome group, at the official state visit welcoming ceremony for the UAE president held on the lawn in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the 29th.
[Photo by Yonhap News]

The signing ceremony of this MOU took place during the state visit of UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the summit meeting with President Yoon Suk-yeol, where the leaders of both countries were present.

Following President Yoon’s visit to the UAE in January last year, the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the UAE Ministry of Economy met to sign a cooperation MOU on small and medium ventures. Subsequently, in June last year, they jointly hosted the large-scale trade, technology, and investment consultation event ‘K-business Day in Middle East’ in the UAE, which helped 78 Korean SMEs enter the UAE market. Additionally, in November last year, the UAE established its first national pavilion at the domestic startup festival COMEUP, with more than 100 UAE delegates participating. Earlier this year, a delegation from the Ministry of SMEs and Startups also attended Investopia, a global investment event chaired by the UAE Minister of Economy.

Both ministries have agreed to establish a regular ministerial-level consultative body to continuously expand cooperation. This body will regularly and comprehensively review past achievements. They have promised to hold the first Small and Medium Venture Committee meeting within this year.

The Korea-UAE Small and Medium Venture Committee will be chaired by the Minister of SMEs and Startups and the UAE Minister of Economy. The committee will address overall matters including expert and information exchange in the SME and startup sectors, institutional cooperation, public-private partnerships, and infrastructure collaboration.

Minister Oh Young-joo of the Ministry of SMEs and Startups stated, “The Korea-UAE Small and Medium Venture Committee is significant as it is the first ministerial-level consultative body in the SME and venture sector established by both the Ministry of SMEs and Startups and the UAE Ministry of Economy, based on the trust built between the two ministries, recognizing that SMEs and startups are at the center of economic cooperation between the two countries.” She emphasized, “Using this committee as a milestone, we will continue to develop the Korea-UAE SME and venture cooperation model and focus our policy capabilities to support the successful entry of our SMEs and startups into the UAE and the Middle East.”

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