The event was a virtual B2G business exchange co-hosted by the Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Minister OH Youngju), the Korean National Police Agency (Acting Commissioner General LEE Ho-young), and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Paraguay (Ambassador YOON Chan-sik). It was attended by over 50 participants, including the Vice Minister of the Paraguayan Ministry of the Interior, senior officials from the Paraguayan National Police, nine promising Korean SMEs in the security equipment sector, and government representatives.

At the meeting, the Paraguayan Ministry of the Interior presented its procurement plans and demand items for the “modernization of public security infrastructure.” In response, nine promising Korean companies in the security industry introduced their innovative technologies and equipment through presentation sessions.

Following the presentations, 1:1 B2G business matching consultations were held with companies designated by the Paraguayan side, exploring concrete possibilities for cooperation.

This event is recognized as a key follow-up achievement to the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and MSS on supporting global expansion of SMEs (April 1, 2024), and the MOU between the Korean National Police Agency and MSS on cooperation in the security industry (April 18, 2024). It stands out as a policy model in which the institutions collaborated to connect promising domestic SMEs with overseas public procurement markets.

The Latin American region, where investment in security infrastructure has recently been increasing, is gaining attention as an emerging market where Korea’s technology-driven export strategies for SMEs can be effectively implemented. MSS plans to use Paraguay, a key market in Latin America, as a foothold to promote strategic diversification of export items and target regions.

The Korean National Police Agency also plans to use this meeting as an opportunity to establish customized technical cooperation tailored to the needs of the Paraguayan government, while actively supporting domestic companies in the security industry to use Paraguay as a bridgehead for entering the Latin American market.

CHOI Joo-won, Director General for Future Policing Policy Bureau at the Korean National Police Agency, stated, “We will work to establish a sustainable cooperation model that includes user training, technology transfer, and maintenance for security equipment.” He added, “We hope this meeting will serve as a practical starting point for identifying avenues of cooperation between the two countries in the field of security.”

YOON Chan-sik, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Paraguay, stated, “Our embassy will continue to collaborate as one team with relevant ministries to help Korean SMEs pioneer new markets by identifying field-oriented projects through creative approaches, as demonstrated in this case.” He emphasized, “We will also follow up with measures such as providing local legal advisory services on imports and exports for our SMEs.”

NOH Yong-seok, Deputy Minister of SME Policy at MSS, stated, “We will ensure that this cooperation does not remain a one-time effort but leads to the expansion of K-security products across Latin America. To that end, we will strengthen collaboration with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Korean National Police Agency and develop customized package support strategies for emerging markets, linked with K-strategic items such as cosmetics.”