On July 4, Gyeonggi Province Vice Governor for Economy Kim Hyun-gon met with Karnataka State Minister for Large and Medium Industries and Infrastructure Development M. B. Patil at the Gyeonggi Provincial Government Complex to discuss ways to strengthen economic cooperation and exchanges between the two regions.

Karnataka State, India’s southern economic hub, is at the center of India’s innovation ecosystem with a large IT cluster and advanced electronics and aerospace industries. Its capital, Bengaluru, has been ranked as the most livable city in India, and Korean companies are active in the state.

Calling Karnataka the “Silicon Valley of India,” Vice Governor Kim drew parallels between the state and Gyeonggi Province, South Korea’s innovation hub, which is the center of the semiconductor industry and home to one-third of the country’s startups. “By combining the strengths of both regions, we can create new opportunities for innovation and economic growth,” Vice Governor Kim said. “We look forward to mutual development through continued cooperation.”

“Karnataka is a very fast growing region in a fast growing India,” said Minister Patil. “There are many opportunities for cooperation between the excellent clusters in Gyeonggi Province and the knowledge, bio and semiconductor clusters in Karnataka. I look forward to learning more about Gyeonggi Province’s semiconductor industry.”

Minister Patil, who was visiting to encourage Korean companies to invest in Karnataka and strengthen economic cooperation, is also working with SMEs in Gyeonggi Province; this includes the signing a business agreement with EM&I, based in Gyeonggi’s Ansan City, on entry into the Indian battery market.

Meanwhile, Gyeonggi Province opened the 20th office of its global Gyeonggi Business Center (GBC) network in Bengaluru, the capital of Karnataka, last December to help the province’s SMEs enter the southern Indian market.

Gyeonggi Province expects the meeting to be a step forward in economic cooperation between the two regions.