Martial Arts and Han-UAE Economic Cooperation Hold 'Business Table' Meeting

Joint Event Hosted with UAE Chamber of Commerce

The Korea International Trade Association (KITA) held the 'Korea-UAE Business Round Table' on the 16th in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE), jointly with the UAE Federal Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

On the Korean side, Kim Gohyun, Executive Director of KITA, Ahn Deokgeun, Director General of the Trade Negotiations Department at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and representatives from 22 Korean companies operating in the UAE attended. On the UAE side, Saif Ghabash, Deputy Minister of the Ministry of Energy and Infrastructure, and representatives from 20 companies including the state-owned defense company Karakal were present.

This business round table was the first event of the 'Korea-UAE Business Council' launched during the UAE presidential visit in January. It was held to explore future strategies for expanding economic cooperation between companies of both countries. On this day, the two countries shared cooperation cases in four major sectors: energy and infrastructure, defense, aerospace, health, medical, and future technologies. Strategies to strengthen cooperation were also discussed.

Ahn Jaehong, Branch Manager of Samsung Engineering, in the energy and infrastructure session presentation said, "Samsung Engineering has completed the preliminary work (PCSA) contract for the construction of the Hail and Ghasha gas field project" and "after a six-month design period, we expect to sign the EPC contract within the third quarter."

As a side event on the day, a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) signing ceremony for economic cooperation was held. At this event, five export contracts and MOUs were signed between Korean and UAE companies. Domestic defense company K-TECH signed an export contract worth approximately $200 million annually with a UAE state-owned defense company. Virtual reality startup Ant Reality signed an MOU with a UAE oil and energy company to cooperate on building an industrial B2B metaverse platform.

Executive Director Kim said, "Despite difficult external conditions, the UAE is building a virtuous cycle cooperation model that allows for mutual growth,” adding, “KITA will also operate a private economic cooperation channel to expand opportunities for meetings between businesspeople of both countries and strive to achieve follow-up business results and substantial investment cooperation.”