The Ministry of SMEs and Startups (MSS, Minister HAN Seongsook) announced that on the occasion of the 31th APEC SME Ministerial Meeting and SMEs Week, held in Jeju from Monday, September 1 to Friday, September 5, it held bilateral meetings with major economies including Peru, China, Indonesia, Vietnam, Japan, Taiwan, and Malaysia to discuss cooperation measures and follow-up actions regarding SMEs and startups.

< Key Outcomes of Bilateral Meetings >

Target	Participants in the Meetings	Main Contents	Target	Participants in the Meetings	Main contents
Vietnam (Vice Minister of Planning and Investment)	Minister	￭ Hold the Korea-Vietnam “Smart Manufacturing Innovation Forum” (Q4) ￭ Discuss advancement of smart manufacturing innovation and linkage with ODA ￭ Discuss establishment of a cooperation framework between Vietnam NRC and KOSME ￭ Plan to hold the 2nd Korea-Vietnam SMEs and Startups Committee meeting on the occasion of high-level exchanges	Japan (Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry)	Minister	￭ Actively cooperate in exchanges, including participation in startup events held in both countries ￭ Expressed hope to share Japan’s policies on business succession and smart manufacturing
Peru (Minister of Production)	Minister	￭ Expressed interest in MSS’s Fund of Funds model and hoped to gain know-how on startup investment ￭ Hoped to establish a Korea Startup Center (KSC) in Peru and discussed cooperation on this initiative	Taiwan (Vice Minister of Economic Affairs)	Deputy Minister of the Office of Startup and Venture Innovation	￭ Expressed interest in Korea’s policies for supporting AI startups and startups’ overseas expansion → Hoped for startup exchanges and cooperation
Indonesia (Minister of Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises)	Minister	￭ Operating an Indonesia-style TIPS program and expects policy exchanges on operation methods and programs ￭ Developing and improving a “super app” platform to integrate administrative and financial support for microbusinesses, and hopes to exchange related policies ￭ Promoting working-level consultations to renew the bilateral MOU on SME and startup cooperation	Malaysia Vice Minister of Entrepreneur & Cooperatives Development	Deputy Minister of the Office of Startup and Venture Innovation	￭ Promote working-level consultations for signing a bilateral MOU on SME and startup exchanges ￭ Extend mutual invitations to startup exchange events (ASEAN Conference on October 25 – COMEUP) ￭ Seek cooperation for Southeast Asia market entry of K-beauty companies and hope for an MOU between SME Corp and KOSME
China (Vice Minister of the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology)	Minister	￭ Strengthen local entry of Korean SMEs through the MOU between KOSME and the China’s Global Development Promotion Center ￭ Conduct working-level consultations on renewing the Korea-China SME and startup cooperation MOU ￭ Promote cooperation on startup exchange events, including an invitation to COMEUP in December

 
Minister HAN Seongsook stated, “The APEC SME Ministerial Meeting was an important opportunity to share our policies with the international community and to broaden the foundation for practical cooperation with other countries.”

She added, “Building on the bilateral and multilateral cooperation outcomes discussed at this meeting, we will provide strong support so that our SMEs and startups can achieve greater success not only in the Asia-Pacific market but also on the global stage.”

She also stated, “In particular, as the APEC SME Ministerial Meeting moves from last year’s chair, Peru, to next year’s chair, China, Korea will continue to play a leading role in global cooperation.”