Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Ministry of National Defense Formulate K-Defense Export Strategy for the Middle East

Exchange of Opinions on Defense Industry Market Entry Strategy
Launched in July for Customized Export Strategy
Second Meeting Following First in Europe Held

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense held the 'Defense Industry Export Network Meeting' for the Middle East region on the 21st. Heads of overseas diplomatic missions in the Middle East participated via video conference to share opinions on the local situation and strategies for entering the defense industry market. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense launched regional defense export network meetings in July to analyze the defense market and devise tailored export support strategies. Today's meeting for the Middle East region is the second, following the first meeting for the European region.

At this meeting, both ministries analyzed opportunity factors for defense companies to enter the Middle Eastern market and reviewed the conditions for securing export orders from a long-term perspective.

Kang Jae-kwon, Economic Diplomacy Coordinator at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, emphasized the need to establish a defense cooperation strategy from a long-term perspective. To this end, overseas missions will share information on international security situations and host country trends with related ministries and agencies promoting defense exports, such as the Ministry of National Defense and the Defense Acquisition Program Administration.

Sung Il, Director of the Resource Management Office at the Ministry of National Defense, stated, "The Middle East region traditionally hosts our important defense cooperation partner countries, and various export projects for our weapon systems are actively underway."

Both the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Ministry of National Defense viewed that Middle Eastern countries are expanding their defense spending to strengthen their national security and defense capabilities. In particular, they agreed to ensure that defense export support can produce results in connection with the recent rise in recognition of K-defense. The heads of missions explained that for our defense companies to successfully enter the Middle Eastern market, it is essential to understand the regional security situation and the dynamics among major countries.