Korea marks new era for business ventures with Kingdom

The Korean consulate with the cooperation of Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry, organized a 2-day business show at the JCCI premises, that included a virtual conference, a workshop and satellite videoconference between Korean and Saudi businessmen.
The exhibition was initiated jointly by the Korean Venture Business Association (KOVA) and KOTRA global business platform, with the aim of fostering common growth and prosperity between the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and Korea.
A total of 90 Korean companies from different sectors including, the machinery industry, electronics, information technology, chemical industry, electrical appliances, security and safety equipment, pharmaceuticals and health industry, participated in the business show. The companies showcased their products, aspiring to increase the volume of trade, and strengthen bilateral partnerships between both countries.
“This is the second occasion for the promotion of business interaction between the Kingdom and Republic of Korea, after an absence of two decades. More than 100 Korean companies are currently involved in the execution of techno-intensive projects, such as power generation, desalination and in petro-chemical plants,” said Yong-gi Shin, Korean consul general.
The Kingdom and the Republic of Korea have developed extremely close ties and nurtured mutually beneficial business opportunities.
“The Korean economic and technological development strategies and experience can prove to be very beneficial to the Kingdom, especially in terms of achieving a knowledge based economy. The resumption of the Korean Air direct flights will also definitely contribute in promoting business, as well as in encouraging greater personal exchange between the two countries,” said Shin.
He further said the total trade volume between the two countries reached $43 billion in 2011, making the Kingdom the 4th largest trading partner to Korea. Korea mostly imported oil and petrochemical products worth around $37 from the Kingdom, while it exported industrial and consumable goods worth $6.9 billion.
“The Jeddah Korean Business show is rather small in scale, but I am confident that it will contribute to further nourishing the partnership between our two countries,” said Shin.
Adnan H. Mandoura, secretary general of JCCI said the two countries have distinguished bilateral, economic and cultural relations. In 2011 Korean companies seized contracts worth $ 15 billion in the Kingdom.
“I hope this trade show will remove all the obstacles between our friendly countries, to allow the development of stronger economic relations and achieve effective strategic partnerships,” added Mandoura.
Ho Kyoung, Seo, the vice chairman of KOVA said this trade show was mainly organized to entice medium and small size companies to develop businesses in Saudi Arabia.
“KOVA business association is a Korean government organization which was established to support venture business, as well as small and medium enterprises (SMES) in Korea. With the help of the Saudi government, we want to introduce this system in the Kingdom, to encourage the Saudi youth who wish to establish small businesses,” said Ho Kyoung, Seo.