8th Korea-UAE Economic Council to Expand Korea-UAE Investment Cooperation and Exchange

The Republic of Korea and the United Arab Emirates held the 8th Joint Economic Commission on Thursday, July 6, in Seoul. The Joint Commission is the highest-level meeting in the economic field, headed by Deputy Prime Minister Chu Kyung-ho and UAE Minister of Economy Al-Marri, and both countries showed high interest in holding the first face-to-face meeting in five years.

In his opening remarks, Mr. Chu emphasized that the two countries should: first, accelerate cooperation in new industries, which will be the future growth engines of the two countries; second, add green and digital to the traditional areas of cooperation in energy and infrastructure; third, expand bilateral material and economic exchanges to cultural and people-to-people exchanges; and fourth, expand the stage of bilateral cooperation to the world. In addition to the detailed discussions on how to accelerate the UAE's $30 billion investment in the country, which took place during the last summit, the Dubai Investment Authority, the Korea Development Bank, and the Korea Investment Corporation agreed to strengthen investment cooperation in the green sector.

The Korea Export-Import Bank and the Export Credit Insurance Corporation of the United Arab Emirates signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU), and on the occasion of the joint committee, Korean and UAE organizations collaborated to hold a seminar on the business environment in the UAE and a business consultation session for Korean companies.

The Korean side called for amicable discussions on difficulties encountered in projects currently under construction in the UAE, and supported Korean companies in winning orders in the natural gas equipment (plant) business. The two sides also held advanced discussions on expanding the hydrogen, medical and cultural sectors.

Deputy Prime Minister Chu Kyung-ho holds meeting with small and medium-sized enterprises

Deputy Prime Minister Chu Kyung-ho holds meeting with small and medium-sized enterprises on June 26.

Mr. Chu noted that while civil indicators such as inflation and employment are improving, business investment and exports remain challenging due to uncertainties such as the delayed recovery of the semiconductor industry and the limited effectiveness of the resumption of economic activity (reopening) in China. In response, the government has expanded tax support by increasing the national strategic technology deduction rate and reintroducing the temporary investment tax credit.

He noted that the government and businesses need to work together for a quick economic rebound, and called on companies to make bold investments to secure competitiveness and explore new global markets.

He emphasized that he will continue to work on regulatory innovation and further strengthen support for management innovation and technological and process advancement to help small and medium-sized enterprises, which are the backbone of our economy, quickly adapt to changes through global supply chain reorganization, digital and eco-friendly transformation, and the spread of environmental, social and corporate governance.

Participating entrepreneurs expressed their gratitude for the government's efforts and recommended expanding support to stimulate domestic demand, facilitate labor recruitment, and ease the burden of family succession, and Chu said he plans to incorporate the recommendations into future government policies.