President Yoon Suk-yeol Visits Saudi Arabia's Diriyah Historic Center
Requests Korean Construction and Investment in $20 Billion Giga Project
During his state visit to Saudi Arabia, President Yoon Suk-yeol was requested by the Saudi side on the 21st (local time) to involve Korean companies in the development of the 'Diriyah Gate.' Diriyah Gate is a project to develop luxury villas, townhouses, community centers, resorts, hospitals, shopping centers, and more in the Diriyah area, located 20 km west of Riyadh, the capital of Saudi Arabia, with a total project cost of $20 billion.
Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the Presidential Office, met with reporters at a press center set up in a hotel in Riyadh on the morning of the 22nd and said, "President Yoon visited the Diriyah heritage site, which can be considered the origin of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, the previous night," and introduced that during this visit, the Saudi side actively requested investment in Diriyah Gate.
President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee, who are on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, are visiting the Diriyah ruins, considered the birthplace of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, located near Riyadh on the 21st (local time). [Photo by Yonhap News]
Earlier, the Public Investment Fund (PIF), led by Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, designated the Diriyah Gate new city development project as Saudi Arabia's fifth giga project. This is part of Saudi Arabia's mid-to-long-term development plan, 'Vision 2030,' which also designated projects such as NEOM City, the Red Sea tourism complex development, Qiddiya entertainment complex, and Roshn housing development as giga projects.
In particular, at this occasion, the Saudi Minister of Investment mentioned cooperation in the hotel and restaurant sectors, specifically naming certain Korean companies to President Yoon. The head of the development authority then introduced the history of bilateral relations starting from the Silla period and said, "My second hometown is Seoul," adding, "It is a great honor to brief the first Korean sales president."
President Yoon also toured a 30-meter-long media wall located at the Diriyah heritage site visitor center. The media wall, which organizes the history from the birth of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia to the present, was also made by a Korean company. The guesthouse where President Yoon and his delegation are staying was reportedly built by a Korean company in the 1970s. The head of the Diriyah Development Authority stated, "You can confirm the presence of Korea throughout Saudi Arabia."
Meanwhile, upon President Yoon's arrival at the heritage site, the Saudi side presented the 'Ardha' performance, a traditional sword dance performed by soldiers in traditional attire. The development authority head gifted President Yoon a purple amethyst-colored shirt cuff, the symbolic color of Diriyah, and gave First Lady Kim Keon-hee a tourism guidebook.
President Yoon Suk-yeol and First Lady Kim Keon-hee, on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, visited the Diriyah heritage site near Riyadh, considered the birthplace of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia, on the 21st (local time). They watched a performance of the traditional Saudi sword dance, 'Arda.' [Photo by Yonhap News]
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