In Pyongyang with Deputy Mayor of Dresden

North Korea recently raised the number of its special economic zones to 24. According to plans, many of them will be administered directly from the provinces they are located in. The isolated country is trying hard to attract foreign investors in order to boost its economy and to reduce its dependence on China. The challenges of putting these intentions into practice were discussed by a delegation of the Friedrich Naumann Foundation for Freedom (FNF) with the Worker’s Party of Korea, the Ministry of Foreign Trade, and the Chamber of Commerce in Pyongyang in late August.

FNF Korea was accompanied by the Deputy Mayor and Head of Economic Affairs of Dresden, Dirk Hilbert, who gave a presentation on the successful development of Saxony’s capitol city over the last 25 years. Mr Hilbert then explained the difficult tasks municipalities face when trying to allure investment. He outlined the procedure from a consulting company’s location analysis to the signing of a contract and emphasized: “In the end you have to be the best!” He also stretched the importance of trust in order to be considered by international investors in the first place.

Mr Hilbert’s lecture was attended by members of staff of the Ministry of Foreign Trade, the Supreme People’s Assembly, the cabinet, public authorities, and people’s committees from several provinces. In a question and answer session the almost 50 participants focussed on taxes and fees, the build-up of infrastructure and power supply, and on advertising and marketing. The delegation’s program included visits to the Pyongyang Cable Plant 326 and to the Okryu Children’s Hospital as well as an exchange of views with the German Embassy.

FNF supports economic modernization in North Korea and with the Deputy Mayor of Dresden’s presentation followed up on a lecture given by the head of the Saxony Economic Development Corporation in Pyongyang one year ago.