Concrete collaboration efforts to be expedited with revision of  Korea-Qatar MOU on smart farm cooperation after 4 years

On the occasion of the Korea-Qatar summit, a foundation has been established for collaborative
projects and a working-level joint committee for practical implementation
through the revision of the bilateral Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on
smart farm cooperation

The Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs
(Minister Chung Hwang-keun, MAFRA) announced that during the
Korea-Qatar summit held in Doha, Qatar on October 25, the "Memorandum of
Understanding (MOU) on Smart Farm Cooperation" was revised with the Qatari
Autonomous Administration.

Korea and Qatar had initially signed the MOU on the occasion of the visit of Emir of Qatar to

Korea in 2019. However, due to factors such as the COVID-19 pandemic, progress
of specific cooperation had been hindered. Recognizing the need to enhance
practical cooperation, both countries found common ground to revise the MOU
with further details, leading to the amendment of the MOU including more
segmented collaboration areas during this summit.

The revised MOU now encompasses not only research and development-centric collaboration, but
also includes specific details for collaborative projects such as the
establishment of a smart agriculture technology complex, cultivation
demonstrations, and substantial cooperation in the training and exchange of
experts in the field of smart agriculture. Furthermore, both nations agreed to
establish a director general-level joint committee to ensure the effective
implementation of the MOU, expected to accelerate governmental
cooperation in the future.

Among Middle Eastern countries, Qatar is highly interested in food security, aiming to
overcome desert climates and increase self-sufficiency in food, especially in
vegetables, through smart agriculture initiatives. With this revised MOU,
strengthened government collaboration is expected to positively impact the
export expansion of Korean smart farm companies wishing to enter the Qatari
market.

Minister Chung Hwang-keun stated, "The revision of the MOU on smart farm cooperation with
Qatar enables closer exchanges between our countries," expressing hope for
the swift progress of smart agriculture cooperation between the two nations
through the establishment of a joint working committee within the year.