RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and South Korea reviewed ways to enhance cooperation in the fields of entrepreneurship and innovation, as the Kingdom’s Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih met with the east Asian country's Minister of Small and Medium Enterprises and Startups Lee Young in Riyadh.
During the meeting, both ministers discussed opportunities for investment partnerships, in addition to getting Korean SMEs entering the Kingdom, Saudi Press Agency reported.
Multiple memorandum of understandings were also signed during the Korean delegation’s visit to Saudi Arabia, which are aimed at providing support to SMEs, along with enabling entrepreneurs to enter the field with more confidence and emphasis.
These MoUs will also help attract investments in the fields of health and agricultural technologies, artificial intelligence for smart cities, digital automization, tourism and hospitality industry, digital contents, and robots.
In an interview with Arab News on the sidelines of entrepreneurship conference Biban 2023 in Riyadh, Young said she was hopeful increasing ties with Saudi Arabia would encourage businesses in her country to tap into the global market.
“Even though we have lots of startups, most of them are focused on the domestic market,” she said.
Relations between the two countries are getting stronger, and in 2022 Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman visited Korea to sign a MoU with regards to large-scale companies, SMEs and startups.
She added: “At the time, the Saudi government explained which fields they were all interested in. For example, smart phones, new energy, and game-like content.”
As a part of its economic diversification strategy, in line with the goals outlined in Vision 2030, Saudi Arabia is strengthening its trade and economic ties with several countries.
Earlier in March, Khalid Al-Falih met with former Cyprus president Nicos Anastasiades and discussed joint cooperation in various sectors.
Al-Falih also met Cyprus Finance Minister Makis Keravnos and signed a framework cooperation agreement aimed at generating mutual investment opportunities between the Kingdom and the Western Asian nation.
In March, Saudi Arabia also signed an agreement with Bulgaria to establish a ‘Saudi-Bulgarian Joint Committee’ to implement general cooperation in various fields.
The joint committee will work toward strengthening bilateral economic relations between the two countries, along with enhancing cooperation opportunities in various sectors.
In February, a meeting between the former President of Croatia, Colinda Grabar, and Saudi business owners at the headquarters of the Federation of Saudi Chambers in Riyadh decided to form a joint Saudi-Croatian business council to tap new areas of economic cooperation between the two countries.
During the meeting, Grabar also expressed her country’s desire to sign an economic cooperation agreement with the Kingdom to expand the areas of trade and investment cooperation.
