Discussions for setting up a manufacturing plant for light emitting diodes (LEDs) in Qatar are nearing its final stages, South Korean ambassador Heung Kyeong Park has said.
The plant, once operational, will cater to the Middle East and North Africa (Mena) market, Heung told Gulf Times yesterday.
“A South Korean consortium composed of 15 small and medium companies, specialising in LEDs, are negotiating with Qatari counterparts for a project that will produce LED products for the Mena region.
“Currently, the negotiation is delayed but I hope they will complete the discussions and start building the manufacturing plant. I have not yet discussed with them the size of the production but I believe they are approaching the final stage of negotiations,” he said.
Aside from the energy and construction sectors, the embassy is expanding its bilateral co-operation with Qatar by bringing in more South Korean small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the country.
“This LED manufacturing project is very important because it serves as a ‘showcase project’ for South Korean small and medium entrepreneurs. If successful, then more Korean entrepreneurs will come to Qatar,” the ambassador said.
This November, Heung said, a delegation of medical experts from South Korea is slated to visit Qatar for a knowledge-exchange programme.
“At the moment, we have a discussion with Qatari counterparts on a ‘medical corporation project.’ South Korea is quite advanced in terms of the quality of our medical treatment and we would like to invite Korean hospitals and prominent doctors to visit Qatar.
“The visit will be highlighted by a joint event or a knowledge-sharing initiative, and we plan to conduct a live surgery workshop. Hopefully, this programme would take place by the end of November,” Heung said.
He added: “We are planning to tap three departments: orthopaedic, organ transplantation, and heart surgery. Currently, experts from the two sides are discussing the details of the project. But initially, the plan is to conduct the live surgery workshop in Qatar.”
During the 2014 Korea-Qatar Business Networking Meeting with the Qatar Chamber, the then ambassador Chung Keejong announced that the South Korean government had selected 12 new engines for its economic programmes.
They included nanotechnology, information technology (IT), battery manufacturing, robotics, special textiles, biomedicine, and special chemicals, among others.
Chung had said while more than a dozen South Korean companies were present in Qatar’s construction and building sector, the embassy would gradually bring in Korean SMEs to the country for possible joint venture projects.