The U.S. Department of Commerce and South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources on May 8 signed a bilateral memorandum of understanding establishing the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Initiative (KUSPI), a new platform that seeks to strengthen bilateral cooperation in commercial shipbuilding, workforce development, industrial modernization, and maritime manufacturing investment.
According to a DOC press release, the KUSPI is intended to leverage the Korea-U.S. Shipbuilding Partnership Center, which is expected to be established later this year in Washington, D.C., and will support expanded collaboration between government, industry, and research institutions from both countries. Specific activities include facilitating foreign direct investment into the U.S. maritime industrial base, workforce training initiatives, shipyard productivity improvement projects, technical exchanges, and other efforts as determined by the DOC and MOTIR.
Under the MOU, the DOC is committed to help facilitate Center interactions with U.S. shipbuilding companies, suppliers, universities, and research institutes, as well as to act as the U.S. government-wide point of contact for the Center. MOTIR, for its part, will coordinate cooperation across the South Korean government and other shipbuilding stakeholders and will provide the personnel and funding necessary for the Center.
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