The UAE and South Korea have signed an agreement to boost ties between the two countries to develop entrepreneurship and scale up relationship between SMEs.
The MoU was signed by Abdullah Al Saleh, Under-Secretary of the Ministry of Economy; and Kim Ki-mun, Chairman of KBIZ, in the presence of Dr. Ahmad Belhoul Al Falasi, Minister of State for Entrepreneurship and SMEs.
Commenting on the partnership, Al Falasi said that the UAE is keen to strengthen cooperation with South Korea in all fields. He explained that the promotion of entrepreneurship, cooperation in supporting the SMEs ecosystem, and the expansion of cooperation between the two countries’ private sectors are the partnership’s major goals.
He added, “The UAE attaches great importance to the development of the SMEs sector as one of the main pillars of the country’s new economic model and its strategic plans for the future in line with the principles and goals of the 50. The development of international partnerships is a major focus area of the UAE’s efforts in this regard, and South Korea is a significant partner for the UAE in our efforts to develop entrepreneurship.
“The signing of the MoU will help us strengthen the role of entrepreneurs and SMEs in the two countries in economic cooperation and facilitate the development of partnerships, especially in health technology and smart agriculture. It will also drive the growth of trade exchanges and stimulate the flow of quality investments in innovation, research and development.”
Under the terms of the MoU, the two parties will jointly design flexible partnership program during the next phase, through which Emirati and Korean SMEs will be able to enter the markets of the two countries more easily and effectively.
They will also cooperate in exchanging knowledge regarding the development of program, policies and legislation related to the entrepreneurship sector in the two countries. The MoU will also increase the linkage between SMEs in the UAE and their counterparts in South Korea as suppliers and trading partners with a competitive advantage.
The two parties also agreed to develop a platform to support SMEs to enable them to identify promising investment opportunities in each other’s markets. They also established mechanisms for cooperation to support and exchange market research and information, allow assistance of experts with regard to supporting SMEs, mutual participation in international events related to the entrepreneurship sector, and benefit from the infrastructure supporting entrepreneurship and its development.
The entrepreneurship and SMEs sector accounts for 99 percent of the total companies in South Korea, while the sector in the UAE accounts for 98.5 per cent of the private sector.