'Shuttle Economic Cooperation Group' That Secured $2 Billion in UAE in March to Visit Again in May and June

Following the Ministry of Industry, the Ministry of Culture and the Ministry of Agriculture and Food also plan to dispatch personnel

Following the success of the first shuttle economic cooperation delegation led by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE), which secured contracts worth over $2 billion in the UAE last March, follow-up shuttle economic cooperation delegations led by the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism (MCST) and the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (MAFRA) will be dispatched to the Middle East in May and June.

On the 19th, MOTIE announced this at the 3rd meeting of the 'Korea-Middle East Economic Cooperation Public-Private Promotion Committee Working Support Group,' chaired by Deputy Minister for Trade Jeong Dae-jin at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry. The MCST economic cooperation delegation will go to the UAE in May, and the MAFRA economic cooperation delegation will head to Saudi Arabia in June.

The meeting was attended by about 20 organizations, including related ministries such as MOTIE, the Ministry of Science and ICT, MAFRA, MCST, the Ministry of National Defense, and the Ministry of SMEs and Startups; support agencies such as the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Korea International Trade Association, KOTRA, and Korea Trade Insurance Corporation; as well as eight companies that achieved results through high-level economic diplomacy.

At the meeting, the government first confirmed that a total of 64 contracts and memoranda of understanding (MOUs) worth $37 billion?including 58 private-sector contracts and MOUs concluded following high-level economic diplomacy with Saudi Arabia and the UAE, and six new contracts and MOUs signed through the first shuttle economic cooperation delegation?are progressing smoothly, and pledged to support their prompt implementation.

To this end, in line with the concept of ‘industrialization of all ministries,’ follow-up shuttle economic cooperation delegations led by MCST and MAFRA will be dispatched to the Middle East following MOTIE’s delegation, actively promoting business forums and consultation meetings to support export market development and project contract acquisition.

Meanwhile, Company A, which attended the working support group meeting, explained that it secured contracts and exported products to Saudi companies based on an MOU signed at the Korea-Saudi Business Forum last November. Company B reported that, based on an MOU signed at the Korea-UAE Business Forum in January, it secured land for establishing a local factory and received new cooperation requests from companies in the UAE and Kuwait.

The working support group meetings are scheduled to be held quarterly. Deputy Minister Jeong said, "It is time for all ministries to join forces to explore economic cooperation measures with the Middle East and to work together for early achievement of results," and proposed, "The follow-up shuttle economic cooperation delegations led by related ministries should also cooperate across all ministries to promote the spread of achievements in various fields."