Samar Yahya
JEDDAH — The fifth Jeddah Korea Business Show took place in Jeddah Chamber of Commerce and Industry (JCCI), aiming to highlight and promote the Saudi-Korean business interaction, Tuesday.
Korean Consul General Nak-Young OH said: “Since it was launched in 2011, the event has functioned well and will continue to do so, as a platform in playing a bridging role among traders and investors of both countries. This year’s event will assume the form of catalogues’ show without any trade mission, different from the previous ones.
“Korea is ready to share cutting-edge technologies and expertise for the economic development and long-term projects with Saudi Arabia. In fact, there are a number of Korean firms engaged in the industrial sectors of high-end quality products such as electronics, communications equipment and automobiles reflecting Korea’s advancement in science and technology.
Though Korean companies have already been present here in the Kingdom, there are huge potentials to expand further economic ties between the two countries.
“It is my belief that trade relations could be developed into investment, once the on-going economic reform and further market-opening measures set their clearer form. Though 2015 Jeddah-Korea Business Show is still small in scale and simple in formality, I hope once again the event will contribute to exploring and developing a new business partnership between the two countries for mutual benefits.”
Adnan Mandourah, secretary general Jeddah Chamber of Commerce & Industry, said: “The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and The Republic of South Korea have distinguished excellent bilateral economic relations for nearly half a century. The relation begun in 1962 steadily developed since the establishment of The Embassy of the Republic of Korea to the Kingdom in 1973. The two countries have good cooperation relations in different fields of economy, sports and culture. We had concluded a number of joint economic and investment agreements between Saudi and Korean companies. The two countries exchanged different visits and business delegations.
“The Republic of Korea adopts an economic development policy based on export practices. Korea is working on increasing its trade transactions. Saudi Arabia is a prime economic trade partner in South Korea’s growing export and different fields. Of special significance to the strong economic relations between the two countries is the signing of the Agreement for Reciprocal Exemption of Taxes and Customs Duties on the Activities of Air Transport (1990), Agreement on Investment Protection (2003), and the Agreement on the Avoidance of Double Taxation (2008).”
“The Kingdom and South Korea have many promising and potential fields for cooperation, especially in the fields of construction, medium and light industries, petrochemical industry and infrastructure projects. Korea is ranked 12th in the world economically and it employed its expertise in many development and industrial projects, especially in Saudi Arabia infrastructure projects.
“There are many potential investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia of investment amount values $120 million. Thus, I would like to take this opportunity to invite companies from South Korea to capitalize on the potential investment prospects in Saudi Arabia, and to change these opportunities into success.” Mandoura added .
Relations between the Kingdom and Korea is more than 50 years old. In particular, the relationship has been dramatically enhanced in the recent decade in terms of economic as well as cultural exchanges, which have been reflected in the continuously increasing trade volume, expanding investment and business activities, and reciprocal visits of high-ranking officials and common citizens as well.
Saudi Arabia is one of the major trading partners of Korea. The bilateral trade volume has leaped from $4.2 billion in 1991 to $31.3 billion in 2010, and again jumped to around $46 billion in 2014. The Kingdom is Korea’s largest oil supplier, making up almost one third of Korea’s total oil import.
What makes this year’s show different is that it comes after the visit of the Korean President Park Geun-hye to Saudi Arabia last March to take bilateral ties between the two countries to a new level by bolstering economic cooperation in various fields, including energy, construction and communication technology as well as on diplomatic and security issues. During the presidential visit, Saudi Arabia and South Korea concluded five key accords including memorandum of understanding (MOU) in the field of nuclear cooperation.
One of the success stories as a result of this sort of events, a Riyadh-based EcoClean company became an exclusive distributor for SJE Corporation Ltd., a manufacturer and distributor of commercial and industrial cleaning products, in Saudi Arabia in October, 2014 and paved the way for broadening advanced steam technology in the local market, total sales turnover reaching out nearly $400,000.
