The UAE and South Korea have held talks to promote entrepreneurship and support the growth of small and medium enterprises in the two countries.
Representatives from both countries met as part of the K-Business Day in Middle East 2023, which was held at Dubai World Trade Centre on Monday. It was attended by Emirati and Korean entrepreneurs, start-up owners, investors, business incubators and accelerators.
The two-day event was organised by a group of investment institutions and business incubators in the UAE and South Korea, including Korea Federation of SMEs, Korea Institute of Startup and Entrepreneurship Development, and Korea Technology and Information Promotion.
The UAE is South Korea’s second-largest trade partner in the GCC and the Arab world as of 2022, said Abdullah bin Touq, UAE Minister of Economy.
UAE-South Korean non-oil foreign trade totalled Dh3.4 billion ($917 million) in the first two months of 2023, up 9 per cent from the previous year, he added.
UAE exports to South Korean markets registered nearly 35 per cent growth to reach Dh627 million over January and February this year.
Last year, the volume of non-oil trade exchanges totalled Dh19.5 billion, reflecting a 14 per cent year-on-year increase.
During the meeting, the UAE and South Korea agreed on new co-operation plans in the field of entrepreneurship, including programmes and facilities to foster start-up growth, enhance investments and enable exports to new markets.
During the meeting, Mr bin Touq and Lee Young, South Korea's Minister of SMEs and Start-ups, discussed incentivising and encouraging SMEs and entrepreneurs to invest in the emerging sectors of the economy to enhance their contribution to gross domestic product growth.
“The meeting marks a significant milestone in fostering greater opportunities for SMEs in both countries' markets,” Mr bin Touq said.
“It serves as a platform to facilitate the exchange of experiences and knowledge between the UAE and Korea, particularly in areas such as venture capital financing, modern technologies and innovative digital solutions.”
The UAE’s SME sector plays a pivotal role in driving national economic growth and ensuring its sustainability. In 2020, SMEs contributed about 63 per cent to the country's GDP, exceeding Dh734 billion.
They make up 94 per cent of the total private sector companies operating in the UAE, with 557,000 companies, according to official data.
The UAE had recently announced its intention to invest about Dh110 billion in South Korea over the next few years. Currently, the UAE's investments in South Korea are concentrated in key sectors such as industry, trade, shipping, communications, real estate and commerce.
South Korean foreign direct investment in the UAE reached nearly Dh8.1 billion as of early 2021, marking a remarkable growth of 73 per cent since the beginning of 2013. These investments primarily focused on the financial, insurance, mining, retail, real estate, transport, energy and technology sectors.
The UAE and South Korea are working to strengthen bilateral ties. In December last year, President Sheikh Mohamed met Kim Dae-ki, special envoy of the South Korean President.
During the meeting, both sides stressed the importance of expanding current co-operation and partnership between the UAE and South Korea, especially in the economy, trade, investment, energy in its various traditional and renewable sectors, advanced technology and other fields that relate to economic diversification plans and building a knowledge-based economy.
The National photo project
Chris Whiteoak, a photographer at The National, spent months taking some of Jacqui Allan's props around the UAE, positioning them perfectly in front of some of the country's most recognisable landmarks. He placed a pirate on Kite Beach, in front of the Burj Al Arab, the Cheshire Cat from Alice in Wonderland at the Burj Khalifa, and brought one of Allan's snails (Freddie, which represents her grandfather) to the Dubai Frame. In Abu Dhabi, a dinosaur went to Al Ain's Jebel Hafeet. And a flamingo was taken all the way to the Hatta Mountains. This special project suitably brings to life the quirky nature of Allan's prop shop (and Allan herself!).
Gender pay parity on track in the UAE
The UAE has a good record on gender pay parity, according to Mercer's Total Remuneration Study.
"In some of the lower levels of jobs women tend to be paid more than men, primarily because men are employed in blue collar jobs and women tend to be employed in white collar jobs which pay better," said Ted Raffoul, career products leader, Mena at Mercer. "I am yet to see a company in the UAE – particularly when you are looking at a blue chip multinationals or some of the bigger local companies – that actively discriminates when it comes to gender on pay."
Mr Raffoul said most gender issues are actually due to the cultural class, as the population is dominated by Asian and Arab cultures where men are generally expected to work and earn whereas women are meant to start a family.
"For that reason, we see a different gender gap. There are less women in senior roles because women tend to focus less on this but that’s not due to any companies having a policy penalising women for any reasons – it’s a cultural thing," he said.
As a result, Mr Raffoul said many companies in the UAE are coming up with benefit package programmes to help working mothers and the career development of women in general.
Cases of coronavirus in the GCC as of March 15
Saudi Arabia – 103 infected, 0 dead, 1 recovered
UAE – 86 infected, 0 dead, 23 recovered
Bahrain – 210 infected, 0 dead, 44 recovered
Kuwait – 104 infected, 0 dead, 5 recovered
Qatar – 337 infected, 0 dead, 4 recovered
Oman – 19 infected, 0 dead, 9 recovered
Day 3 stumps
New Zealand 153 & 249
Pakistan 227 & 37-0 (target 176)
Pakistan require another 139 runs with 10 wickets remaining
The five pillars of Islam
1. Fasting
2. Prayer
3. Hajj
4. Shahada
5. Zakat
Country-size land deals
US interest in purchasing territory is not as outlandish as it sounds. Here's a look at some big land transactions between nations:
Louisiana Purchase
If Donald Trump is one who aims to broker "a deal of the century", then this was the "deal of the 19th Century". In 1803, the US nearly doubled in size when it bought 2,140,000 square kilometres from France for $15 million.
Florida Purchase Treaty
The US courted Spain for Florida for years. Spain eventually realised its burden in holding on to the territory and in 1819 effectively ceded it to America in a wider border treaty.
Alaska purchase
America's spending spree continued in 1867 when it acquired 1,518,800 km2 of Alaskan land from Russia for $7.2m. Critics panned the government for buying "useless land".
The Philippines
At the end of the Spanish-American War, a provision in the 1898 Treaty of Paris saw Spain surrender the Philippines for a payment of $20 million.
US Virgin Islands
It's not like a US president has never reached a deal with Denmark before. In 1917 the US purchased the Danish West Indies for $25m and renamed them the US Virgin Islands.
Gwadar
The most recent sovereign land purchase was in 1958 when Pakistan bought the southwestern port of Gwadar from Oman for 5.5bn Pakistan rupees.
MOUNTAINHEAD REVIEW
Starring: Ramy Youssef, Steve Carell, Jason Schwartzman
Director: Jesse Armstrong
Rating: 3.5/5
The more serious side of specialty coffee
While the taste of beans and freshness of roast is paramount to the specialty coffee scene, so is sustainability and workers’ rights.
The bulk of genuine specialty coffee companies aim to improve on these elements in every stage of production via direct relationships with farmers. For instance, Mokha 1450 on Al Wasl Road strives to work predominantly with women-owned and -operated coffee organisations, including female farmers in the Sabree mountains of Yemen.
Because, as the boutique’s owner, Garfield Kerr, points out: “women represent over 90 per cent of the coffee value chain, but are woefully underrepresented in less than 10 per cent of ownership and management throughout the global coffee industry.”
One of the UAE’s largest suppliers of green (meaning not-yet-roasted) beans, Raw Coffee, is a founding member of the Partnership of Gender Equity, which aims to empower female coffee farmers and harvesters.
Also, globally, many companies have found the perfect way to recycle old coffee grounds: they create the perfect fertile soil in which to grow mushrooms.
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UK’s AI plan
- AI ambassadors such as MIT economist Simon Johnson, Monzo cofounder Tom Blomfield and Google DeepMind’s Raia Hadsell
- £10bn AI growth zone in South Wales to create 5,000 jobs
- £100m of government support for startups building AI hardware products
- £250m to train new AI models
More from Neighbourhood Watch:
Managing the separation process
- Choose your nursery carefully in the first place
- Relax – and hopefully your child will follow suit
- Inform the staff in advance of your child’s likes and dislikes.
- If you need some extra time to talk to the teachers, make an appointment a few days in advance, rather than attempting to chat on your child’s first day
- The longer you stay, the more upset your child will become. As difficult as it is, walk away. Say a proper goodbye and reassure your child that you will be back
- Be patient. Your child might love it one day and hate it the next
- Stick at it. Don’t give up after the first day or week. It takes time for children to settle into a new routine.And, finally, don’t feel guilty.
