Within their endeavor to promote investment opportunities of small and medium enterprises in Abu Dhabi and Korea, the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry and The Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KBIZ) signed a cooperation agreement to strengthen the cooperation regarding fostering economic and trading relationships between their respective members.

Signed in Abu Dhabi, the cooperation agreement stipulates that both parties shall support the business environment as a global system for positive partnerships in addition to the transfer of technology, expertise, the best practices, and mutual investment.

According to the agreement, both parties shall assist each other to arrange visits and create active channels of communication as well as virtual seminars instrumental in enhancing and streamlining relations; in addition to providing market research in the UAE and Korea; and organizing economic and trade seminars, business talks and other necessary business activities.

The signing of the cooperation agreement came during a meeting held between the two sides, which was attended by His Excellency Dr. Ali Saeed bin Harmal Al Dhaheri, First Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber; and His Excellency Khalid Al Fahim, Board Member of the Abu Dhabi Chamber; along with His Excellency Mohamed Helal Al Mheiri, Director General of the Chamber, and both his deputies Mr. Abdullah Ghurair Al Qubaisi and Mr. Helal Mohamed Al Hameli. From the Korean side, His Excellency Ki-Mun Kim, Chairman of KBIZ, attended the meeting along with several members of the federation and owners of Korean SMEs.

Strong Relations

“The signing of a cooperation agreement between the Abu Dhabi Chamber and KBIZ is key to fostering economic and trading relationships between their members as well as promoting the investments of SMEs in the UAE and South Korea alike,” said the First Vice Chairman of the Abu Dhabi Chamber as the beginning of the meeting.

H.E. Dr. Ali Saeed bin Harmal Al Dhaheri added that The UAE and South Korea share economic relations that span for over four-decades and that over the past 40 years, the ties between the two friendly countries have significantly advanced, reaching the levels of a robust strategic partnership.

“Today, the UAE is the second leading oil exporter to South Korea and the second leading importer of South Korean products in the Middle East. Our total non-oil trade stood at around AED 17.8 billion in 2020.  Both countries have also adopted similar development ambitions to create a knowledge-based economy and invest in human resources,” he explained.

SMEs

H.E. Al Dhaheri emphasized that the wise leadership of the UAE is keen on extending the necessary support to the SME sector, considering it is an indispensable driver for the development of an attractive and prosperous environment for business entrepreneurship, especially after the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on this sector.

“According to the UAE Ministry of Economy, the SMEs sector represents more than 94 percent of the total number of companies operating in the country and provide jobs for more than 86 per cent of the private sector's workforce,” he noted.

Dr. Al Dhaheri added that one of the strategies of Abu Dhabi Vision is to open new doors for creativity and unleash the untapped potentials of startups and SMEs, as they are key engines of the national economy and amongst the most important strategic drivers to support productive sectors.

Cooperation Agreement

According to Dr. Al Dhaheri, the newly signed cooperation agreement will facilitate the transfer of knowledge, taking into account the huge capabilities of both countries, especially in areas of creativity and innovation, SME development, healthcare, education, and medicine.

The Vice Chairman urged all businesses in Abu Dhabi and South Korea to benefit from the close relationships between the two countries and assume their role in building an advanced system for the development of the SME sector.

For his part, H.E. Ki-Mun Kim, Chairman of KBIZ, said that signing the cooperation agreement with Abu Dhabi Chamber will facilitate the organization of joint businesses between the two sides, especially in supporting and developing entrepreneurship while promoting partnerships between SMEs in both Abu Dhabi and Korea.

He pointed out that the SMEs sector represents around 99 percent of the total number of businesses operating in South Korea.