Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha held a video conference with the chiefs of South Korean missions in six Middle Eastern nations on Wednesday to discuss ways to boost support for Korean businesses in the region.

In the talks, Kang assessed that business conditions are difficult for South Korean companies as COVID-19 is rapidly spreading in the member states of the Gulf Cooperation Council(GCC) and crude oil prices remain significantly low with sharp drops in demand. 

The minister asked the mission chiefs to explore ways to protect South Korean nationals and enhance support for Korean businesses in the region amid the COVID-19 pandemic. 

While projecting that GCC member nations will reduce their reliance on the oil industry and seek to promote diverse industries in the post-COVID-19 era, Kang discussed ways for South Korea to enhance cooperation with those countries in health care, infrastructure and ICT where it has prowess. 

The participants of the meeting included the ambassadors to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Qatar, Kuwait, Oman and Bahrain.