By Reporter Kayla lee 

The Ministry of SMEs and Startups announced on June 11 that it held a signing ceremony for the establishment of a bilateral joint fund at the Crowne Plaza Hotel in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, attended by Minister Lee Young and Yousef Al Benyan, Chairman of the Board of Directors of the Saudi Small and Medium Enterprise Bank (SME Bank).

The establishment of the bilateral fund is seen as an achievement as part of the follow-up to the 'Memorandum of Understanding for Korea-Saudi Investment Cooperation and Support for Start-ups' signed on the occasion of the meeting between President Yoon and Crown Prince bin Salman on November 22.

Minister Lee Young has been building a close cooperative relationship between the two countries through his participation in the Davos public forum in January, his visit to Saudi Arabia in March, and his current visit to the Middle East. During these visits, he has engaged with Saudi government officials, including the Minister of Investment, to establish a joint fund for investment purposes.

The joint fund is a USD 150 million (KRW 194.5 billion) fund with Saudi Arabia as the main investor, and Korea Venture Investment will invest USD 10 million (KRW 13 billion) to create a total fund of USD 160 million (KRW 208.4 billion), with Saudi Venture Investment (SVC) and the Saudi Sovereign Wealth Fund (PIF Jada) as the main investors.

The two countries have agreed that the fund will make a mandatory investment of at least $10 million in Korean companies.

Minister Lee Young stated, "Through the establishment of a joint fund between Korea and Saudi Arabia, we will actively support not only attracting investments for our venture and startup companies but also enabling them to enter the Saudi market. We will make every effort to become a key player in the second wave of the Middle East's economic transformation.“

Meanwhile, since the inauguration of the Yoon administration, Korea and Saudi Arabia have been conducting active exchanges in various fields such as economy and culture, including the signing of 26 investment agreements and memorandums of understanding, including a joint fund, through bilateral summits.