Gu Ja-yeol, Chairman of Muhyeop, Reappointed as Chairman of Korea-Arab Society

Reappointment Confirmed at the 20th Board Meeting
"Striving to Maintain Friendly Relations Between Korea and the Middle East"

Gu Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, confirmed his reappointment as Chairman at the 20th Korea-Arab Society Board of Directors meeting held on the 25th at the Trade Tower in Gangnam-gu, Seoul.

Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, is delivering a welcoming speech at the '1st Public-Private Joint Export Expansion Measures Meeting' held on the 5th at the Trade Association in Gangnam-gu, Seoul. Photo by Kang Jin-hyung aymsdream@

The Korea-Arab Society is a public-private non-profit foundation established in 2008 to promote exchange and cooperation in various fields such as economy, culture, academia, and human exchange between Korea and the Arab region.

Chairman Gu, who served as the 9th Chairman from March 2021 to December 2023, was reappointed as Chairman for a two-year term at this board meeting.

The board meeting was attended by nine Korean representatives including Kim Eun-jung, Director General of the Africa and Middle East Bureau at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Ko Yoon-joo, International Relations Ambassador of Jeju Special Self-Governing Province, and Kwak Soon-rye, President of the Korean Middle East Society, as well as 14 Middle Eastern directors including Shafik Hashadi, Ambassador of Morocco to Korea, Abdullah Alnuaimi, Ambassador of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to Korea, and Antoine Azam, Ambassador of Lebanon to Korea.

Chairman Gu stated, "Last year marked the 50th anniversary of Korean companies entering the Middle East, and high-level exchanges have been active with the President’s visits to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar, as well as the conclusion of the Korea-Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) Free Trade Agreement (FTA), boosting economic cooperation. As the role of the Korea-Arab Society becomes increasingly important, we will strive to maintain friendly relations between the two regions across various fields."

In particular, he added, "This year, we plan to strengthen projects such as the Korea-Arab Business Forum, focusing on content that is of high interest to companies, and enhance activities to promote mutual understanding by expanding opportunities for cultural exchange."