Korean delegation calls on Shri Virbhadra Singh

Korean delegation calls on Shri Virbhadra Singh Shri Virbhadra Singh, Minister of Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises along-with a team of senior officers of the Ministry of MSME met Mr. Kim Dongsun, Administrator of Small and Medium Business Administration (SMBA) of Korea (Republic of Korea) here today. Issues concerning the development of MSME sector in both the countries were discussed with the six members Korean delegation. The Minister welcomed the visiting dignitaries and informed that the Ministry of MSME has signed Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with SMBA, Republic of Korea on 18.06.2010. He assured the Ministries full co-operation for the development of MSME sector in both countries. The Minister said that MSME is one of the most important sector after agriculture which provides maximum employment. Mr. Dongsun Kim mentioned the enormous opportunities in Small and Medium Enterprises for mutual benefits of both the countries. The three specific areas mentioned by him were in Information Technology Sector, where Korea could benefit from the Indian strength, in Software as well as Indian professionals working in Korean companies in Korea. On the other hand, India could benefit from the existing Korean technologies in hardware where Republic of Korea has an advantage. In the area of Green Technologies, LED/Photovoltaic Cells/Solar energy etc., Korea has developed several technologies which could be of benefit to India and therefore, Joint-ventures with Indian Companies as well as Korean companies coming to invest in India would be very exciting possibility. Shri Uday Kumar Varma, Secretary (MSME), responding to the observations by Mr. Kim Dongsun, emphasized on the structured carry forward of the earlier MoU, hence Republic of Korea was requested to expedite designating their Joint Working Group Members. He also said that National Small Industries Corporation (NSIC) could be a meeting point for such exchanges between Korean and Indian companies due to its all India presence. Secretary (MSME) welcomed the idea of seminars and assured all support in this matter. He also expressed the interest of the Ministry to join hands for exchange of ideas on innovation.