17 Local SMEs Hold Export Consultation with Mongolian Buyers
Promoting Win-Win Cooperation and Exchange Expansion with Sister City Ulaanbaatar
[Asia Economy Yeongnam Reporting Headquarters Reporter Kim Gui-yeol] Lee Cheol-woo, Governor of Gyeongbuk Province, began his visit on the 8th in Ulaanbaatar, Mongolia, with a meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Amar Saikhan and the 1st Deputy Mayor of Ulaanbaatar. He encouraged companies participating in the Gyeongbuk Province-Mongolia Excellent Products Export Consultation, signed a friendship agreement between Gyeongbuk Province and Ulaanbaatar City, and held ceremonies for energy and agricultural cooperation agreements.
The export consultation held at the Blue Sky Hotel in downtown Ulaanbaatar featured participation from 17 companies located in the region, including cosmetics, food, daily necessities, clothing products, adult hygiene products, software, and solar energy.
One-on-one export consultations with local Mongolian buyers resulted in contracts and export consultation achievements worth $3 million.
Kim Jong-ho, CEO of Shinwoo P&C (Chilgok, adult hygiene products), who attended the consultation, said, “Although some exports to the Mongolian market are currently underway, this visit will serve as an opportunity to expand local market development and simultaneously establish new export strategies.”
Son Myung-sook, CEO of Mirae Industry (Gimcheon, water and sewage products), said, “Due to the influence of the Korean Wave, preference for Korean products is increasing, and it is expected that some of our products will be exportable. We anticipate good results through meetings with buyers at this consultation.”
During the meeting with Deputy Prime Minister Amar Saikhan, Governor Lee Cheol-woo said, “Gyeongbuk Province has shared ways for global prosperity through the Saemaul Undong movement and has been promoting various cooperative projects with the UN. Let us foster a mutually beneficial relationship through cooperation in energy and agriculture.”
In response, Mongolian Deputy Prime Minister Amar Saikhan promised, “The Gyeongbuk Neighboring Youth Pilot Village project model can greatly help solve the serious urban problems of Ulaanbaatar City and will be actively supported by the government to succeed in Mongolia’s provincial cities as well.”
At the mutual cooperation agreement ceremony with Sandagsuren, the 1st Mayor in charge of Economy and Infrastructure of Ulaanbaatar City, Governor Lee and the Deputy Mayor pledged to make their best efforts to promote cooperation in various fields such as economy, culture, industry, and tourism between the two regions for mutual win-win outcomes.
Following the signing of the mutual cooperation agreement between Gyeongbuk Province and Ulaanbaatar City, a memorandum of understanding was also signed to export the ‘Neighboring Youth Pilot Village’ model, an excellent project of the 7th local government, as a package business.
Gyeongbuk Province, Gyeongbuk Development Corporation, Korea Energy Agency, Ulaanbaatar City, and the National Renewable Energy Center agreed to jointly cooperate with Mongolian related organizations to apply the excellent Neighboring Youth Pilot Village model to Mongolia’s provinces and satellite cities by expanding the joint agreement in the field of renewable energy to energy and green city creation.
This agreement was chosen as the first overseas visit destination of Governor Lee Cheol-woo’s 8th local government term to actively support local companies aiming to enter Mongolia, an important hub for the northern economy and renewable energy market.
It was also prepared to spread a successful model that can fundamentally improve the serious urban problems caused by population concentration in Ulaanbaatar City by attracting young people from Ulaanbaatar to provincial cities.
Ulaanbaatar is the capital and economic center of Mongolia, holding 68% of Mongolia’s economy, 85% of currency supply, and 50% of the population, but it faces difficulties such as energy and environmental issues.
This energy cooperation agreement is expected to play a very important role. The agreement was accompanied by Lee Sang-hoon, Chairman of the Korea Energy Agency, Lee Jae-hyuk, President of Gyeongbuk Development Corporation, and solar energy companies from the province.
The province plans to promote the ‘Green Energy Youth Village’ project in 10 locations in Mongolia as the first pilot project to apply the Neighboring Youth Pilot Village model in Mongolia.
The main projects are job creation projects, including high-income crop cultivation such as strawberries in smart farms, solar power plant management, and infrastructure development projects.
The smart farm project incorporates a renewable energy convergence system that stores surplus summer solar energy underground and uses it for winter heating, currently being developed and demonstrated in Gyeongbuk, and solar power plant projects for local companies aiming to achieve 100% renewable energy consumption (RE100) for product production power.
Additionally, welfare facilities such as zero-energy housing, hospitals, kindergartens, and cultural facilities for youth housing, and a Mongolian youth dispatch program to Gyeongbuk for education in smart farm cultivation technology and solar power maintenance technology are included.
Gyeongbuk Agricultural Research Institute and Mongolia National Agricultural University signed a memorandum of understanding for joint cooperation on various agricultural-related cooperation plans, including joint research, new technology information exchange, researcher exchanges, and agricultural technology training.
At the event, Governor Lee said, “We greatly anticipate the effect of mutual cooperation between the two countries through the transfer of Gyeongbuk’s excellent agricultural research technology and exchange of professional personnel to promote agricultural policies that can overcome Mongolia’s harsh agricultural environment and sustain it.”
Buyan Baatar, President of Mongolia National Agricultural University, said, “This has become a valuable opportunity to open a new future for human and material exchanges as well as various agricultural information exchanges to promote the advancement and competitiveness of Mongolian agriculture through cooperation with Gyeongbuk Province, which leads outstanding technology and agricultural machinery manufacturing in the agricultural field.”
Kim Sang-young, CEO of Ttukbaegi and advisor to the Korea-Mongolia Association, said, “I will visit Mongolia every year in the future to contribute more to practical exchanges between the two countries and regions through corporate exchanges, scholarship delivery, computer donations, sisterhood ties with schools, and volunteer activities in Daegu, Gyeongbuk, and the Mongolia Association located in the region.”
Governor Lee said, “Through active local economic diplomacy activities, I will share the know-how and experience of balanced development moving from the metropolitan-centered era to the local era with Mongolia and serve as a bridge for local companies’ entry into the northern market. We plan to continuously promote such overseas win-win exchange cooperation projects and make Ulaanbaatar City in Mongolia a hub city for expanding Gyeongbuk’s northern economic territory and advance into Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, and other countries.”
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