Dubai, a major business hub of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), is committed to hosting globally competitive startups in the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, including those from South Korea, a senior official from the city’s foundation has said.

Saeed Al Falasi, executive director of the Dubai Future Foundation, made the remark during a group interview Sunday at the venue of the annual Expand North Star startup exhibition, which kicked off in Dubai on the day, reports Yonhap news agency.

“I think whenever we read about AI and what is happening around the world, South Korea always comes on the map as one of those that are quite innovative in the way that they do (things),” the executive director said. The state-run foundation focuses on bridging authorities with global businesses, including startups, to address future challenges by harnessing cutting-edge technologies, such as AI, the Internet of Things and blockchain.

Al Falasi noted that his foundation has been pushing to promote what it calls a “commercial diplomat,” which focuses on providing state-level support for startups to give them broader access than they could achieve individually. “So we are providing these startups with more things than just a cold call or a connection, and that is why I call it the commercial diplomat,” he said, citing the foundation’s ties with the National Research Foundation of Korea as an example.

“When we look at South Korea, we see innovation. We see talent. So the communication and working with that country, specifically, is not stopping,” he said. The foundation, meanwhile, inked a memorandum of understanding with the state-run Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency in September aimed at enhancing exchanges between South Korean startups and UAE government entities, said the report.