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Noh Yong-seok, First Vice Minister of SMEs and Startups.

The Ministry of Startups and SMEs (MSS) held the "Korea-Italy Cooperatives MOU & Seminar" at the Grand Hotel Plaza in Rome, Italy, on the 11th (local time) to promote the mutual development of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) and cooperatives of both nations.

The event serves as a follow-up project to materialize cooperation initiatives between SMEs and cooperatives discussed during Italian Prime Minister Giorgia Meloni’s visit to South Korea last January. Italy is a nation with highly developed cooperative-based industrial clusters and growth ecosystems for SMEs.

On that day, the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business (KBIZ) met with leading Italian economic organizations to solidify foundations for practical cooperation. KBIZ signed separate memoranda of understanding (MOUs) with CONFAPI (Italian Confederation of Small and Medium Private Industry), which represents around 116,000 manufacturing-centric SMEs, and LEGACOOP (National League of Cooperatives and Mutuals), which boasts a membership of over 7 million. Moving forward, both nations will jointly pursue business matching, policy and information exchanges, and market data sharing.

During the seminar that followed, discussions focused on the growth models and support frameworks of both countries. Following presentations from the Italian side detailing their consortium operation models and internationalization strategies for SMEs, Cho Ju-hyun, President of the Korea Small Business Institute (KOSBI), delivered a well-received presentation titled "South Korea and Italy: Building an Innovative Ecosystem for Manufacturing SMEs Through Cooperation."

"This event marks a new starting point for cooperation that transcends mere exchanges, allowing cooperatives from both nations to grow together," emphasized Noh Yong-seok, First Vice Minister of Startups and SMEs. "We will continue expanding our support to ensure that SMEs and cooperatives can unlock new opportunities in the global market."

                                                                                                                Oh Se-eun