Expo City Dubai has signed a partnership agreement with two Korean entities – the Korea International Trade Association (KITA) and the Korea IT Cooperation Centre (KICC UAE) – to advance sustainable urban development by fostering innovation, entrepreneurship and international collaboration.

Formalised on the sidelines of the Cities in Action Forum at Expo City Dubai, the partnership will enhance knowledge exchange and support technological solutions to urban development challenges by providing Korean startups and companies access to Expo City’s dynamic economic free zone and its Urban Lab – an advanced city-wide testbed for trialling new technologies.

Under the agreement, KITA – Korea’s largest business organisation with 73,000-plus members – and KICC UAE - a government agency dedicated to supporting Korean ICT companies, fostering 5,000 ICT/AI companies annually - will introduce Korean innovators to Expo City Dubai as a place to set up their business and a platform for sharing expertise and supporting proof-of-concept (PoC) projects.

Korean startups will gain preferential access to conduct trials at Expo City Dubai’s Urban Lab, leveraging more than 200,000 live data points from advanced IoT systems, cameras and sensors around the city to obtain real-time data and insights into a technology’s performance in a dynamic urban setting and regulatory-compliant sandbox environment.

Manal AlBayat, Chief Engagement Officer of Expo City Dubai, said: “As the premier destination in the region for innovation and entrepreneurship, this tripartite agreement enables us to leverage global expertise to nurture solutions to the challenges of urban life. Together with KITA and KICC UAE, we will facilitate the testing, scaling and commercialisation of near-market-ready technologies, attracting new innovators to Expo City and reaffirming our position as a global hub for innovation, where like-minded entities can shape a brighter future."

PhilJae Park, President of KITA MENA, said: “As a leader in promoting PoC projects in Korea and around the world, KITA will leverage its decades of international experience to work with Expo City Dubai for our mutual benefit and success. We are committed to providing comprehensive support to enable Korean conglomerates, medium-sized companies, and startups to form a unified team and participate in upcoming collaborative projects.”

Junbai Yoon, Director of KICC UAE, said: “Collaborating with Expo City Dubai reflects our commitment to fostering innovation and advancing technological solutions on a global scale. By integrating Korean expertise in AI and ICT with Expo City’s advanced, city-wide Urban Lab testbed, we aim to empower startups to develop impactful solutions that address real-world challenges and create sustainable urban environments. This partnership is a vital step towards building a robust cross-border innovation network that will benefit cities around the world.”

Expo City’s business hub and free zone offers incentives for company establishment, expedited licensing and shared corporate services, while the city’s Urban Lab environment can be tailored to each solution’s requirements, creating a favourable environment for innovation and empowering entrepreneurs and startups to bring their products and technologies to market. The collaboration also aims to build a robust cross-border startup ecosystem with support from public agencies and funding for PoC programmes.

Expo City’s prime location and world-class connectivity put it at the centre of Dubai’s future – a hub connecting Dubai Exhibition Centre, Al Maktoum International Airport and Jebel Ali Port, and a key driver of Dubai’s Economic Agenda (D33), attracting industries and organisations from around the world that support the growth of innovation and the knowledge-based economy.