[Exclusive] UAE President, Major Player in K-Defense Industry, Cancels Visit to Korea

Original plan to view domestic weapons at ADEX defense exhibition on 16th
Defense plans fully canceled due to Israel-Hamas war

The visit of Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), to South Korea has been canceled. The UAE president was originally expected to attend the opening of the ‘Seoul International Aerospace and Defense Exhibition (ADEX) 2023’ at Seoul Airport in Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province on the 17th, raising high expectations.

[Image source=Reuters Yonhap News]

A government official stated on the 12th, “The UAE president was scheduled to tour domestic weapons and booths on the 16th, a day before the ADEX opening, but on the evening of the 11th, we were informed that he would not be able to visit.”

The UAE president’s cancellation is due to the war between Israel and the Palestinian armed faction Hamas. Recently, the UAE warned Syria not to side with Hamas in the conflict between Israel and Hamas. This indicates how urgent the situation in the Middle East has become. The UAE signed a peace agreement with Israel, known as the Abraham Accords, in 2020 through U.S. mediation, along with Bahrain. Israel is also pursuing diplomatic relations with Saudi Arabia.

During this visit, the UAE president was scheduled to receive a briefing on the long-range surface-to-air guided missile system (L-SAM) that was publicly displayed during the recent Armed Forces Day parade. It is known that the UAE is considering the introduction of domestically produced surface-to-air missiles to counter Iran, which is advancing its ballistic missile development similar to North Korea. As a major player in the Middle Eastern arms market, the UAE imported the medium-range surface-to-air guided missile ‘Cheongung-II’ last January, worth approximately 4 trillion won. The UAE also imported the wheeled multiple rocket launcher ‘Cheonmu.’ In February, former Minister of National Defense Lee Jong-seop visited the UAE military’s Korean-made surface-to-air guided missile ‘Cheongung-II’ (M-SAM II) operating units and encouraged the UAE military and defense officials.

With the cancellation of the UAE president’s visit, the decision regarding the UAE paying the overdue contributions of Indonesia and participating in the KF-21 Boramae project, currently being developed by Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI), is expected to be delayed. It is reported that the UAE side has already completed a preliminary review of this matter. Korea and the UAE have been cooperating in various defense sectors, including jointly developing the multipurpose transport aircraft ‘MC-X’ by KAI, following President Yoon Suk-yeol’s visit to the UAE last January.