President Yoon and President Muhammad Summit
Expanding Cooperation in Defense, Energy, and Economic Investment
Highest Honors for First State Visit to Korea
Investment Opportunities Exceeding $6 Billion
Middle East Boom as New Momentum
Joint Effort to Establish Small and Medium Venture Committee
President Yoon Suk-yeol is attending the signing ceremony of the Korea-United Arab Emirates (UAE) agreement and memorandum of understanding (MOU) held on the 29th at the Presidential Office building in Yongsan, Seoul, along with Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). [Image source=Yonhap News]
On the 29th, President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, the President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who made his first state visit to South Korea. They agreed to expand cooperation in areas such as defense, energy, and economic investment. Notably, South Korea and the UAE signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), strengthening their economic partnership across comprehensive fields including trade liberalization and investment expansion. The UAE is the first Arab country with which South Korea has signed a CEPA. President Yoon plans to leverage this opportunity to create momentum for a "new Middle East boom" through active summit diplomacy with Middle Eastern countries.
At 11:20 a.m. on the same day, President Yoon held a summit with President Mohamed and stated, "With the signing of the CEPA between South Korea and the UAE, we will establish a future-oriented economic partnership in areas such as tariff liberalization, opening of service sectors including healthcare and online gaming, and fields like bio and energy." Following President Yoon's state visit to the UAE in January last year, President Mohamed's state visit to South Korea marks a reciprocal state visit after about one year and four months.
Park Chun-seop, Senior Secretary for Economic Affairs to the President, explained at a briefing held at the Yongsan Presidential Office in the afternoon, "While an FTA focuses on liberalization of goods, services, and trade, CEPA additionally includes the investment sector." Once CEPA comes into effect, South Korea and the UAE will open 92.5% and 91.2% of their markets respectively by the number of product items over the next ten years.
Tariffs on weapons, large electric vehicles, medical devices, pharmaceuticals, cosmetics, and others will be immediately abolished, and many machinery items will have tariffs removed within five years. Tariffs on automobiles, parts, home appliances, and others will be eliminated within a maximum of ten years. This is expected to enhance the export competitiveness of Korean companies compared to the United States, European Union (EU), Japan, and China, which have not yet signed CEPA with the UAE.
This visit marks the UAE president’s first state visit to South Korea and President Mohamed’s first visit since his inauguration. President Mohamed took office in May 2022 and had visited South Korea five times as Crown Prince before his presidency. President Mohamed’s visit is evaluated as a turning point to deepen and develop the "special strategic partnership" between the two countries, centered on the close bond between the two leaders.
President Yoon Suk-yeol is welcoming President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at the state luncheon held at the Blue House's Yeongbingwan on the 29th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
"Reviewing Investment Opportunities Exceeding 6 Billion Dollars"
During the summit, the two leaders agreed to join hands in four key areas: ▲ economy and investment ▲ traditional energy and clean energy ▲ peaceful nuclear energy ▲ defense and defense technology, as well as advanced technology fields such as artificial intelligence (AI). Through his visit to the UAE last year, President Yoon attracted investments worth 30 billion dollars (about 41 trillion won), and the leaders reviewed the outcomes and discussed attracting investments from domestic companies. Currently, UAE institutions such as Mubadala (a sovereign wealth fund ranked 13th globally with assets under management of 284.4 billion dollars) are reviewing investment opportunities exceeding 6 billion dollars in the Korean market through investment cooperation channels.
Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, said at the briefing, "The two leaders expressed satisfaction that the 30 billion dollar investment pledge is being faithfully implemented," adding, "They highly appreciated the smooth progress of investment cooperation, including the UAE side’s review of investment opportunities exceeding 6 billion dollars." He also conveyed that "President Mohamed said this decision by the UAE sovereign wealth fund and investment institutions clearly shows how much the UAE trusts the Korean economy."
Cooperation in traditional and clean energy sectors will also be expanded. Through the signing of a Letter of Intent for the construction of liquefied natural gas (LNG) carriers between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Korean companies, Korean firms are expected to secure orders for at least six LNG vessels (worth about 1.5 billion dollars, with additional order options). Senior Secretary Park explained, "Additional order options are included," and "The final contract could be signed as early as the first half of the year."
Energy security cooperation between the two countries will be strengthened through the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to expand the joint crude oil stockpiling project, currently at about 4 million barrels. Additionally, to support hydrogen cooperation projects, an MOU on carbon capture and storage (CCS) cooperation for clean hydrogen production using LNG was signed to respond to climate change and increase cooperation in the promising future industry of hydrogen.
Furthermore, through the signing of an MOU to establish a "Small and Medium Venture Committee," a ministerial-level regular consultative body will be created to expand cooperation in the SME and venture sectors between the two countries. The UAE is the first country with which South Korea has established such a ministerial-level regular consultative body in the SME and venture sector. Other MOUs were signed to strengthen corporate partnerships through the Middle East IT Support Center, expand joint research and development (R&D) through a global AI research hub, and establish a dual campus between KAIST and Zayed University.
Regarding nuclear cooperation, the successful implementation of the Barakah nuclear power plant project was highly praised. According to the Presidential Office, the two leaders agreed to expand cooperation in nuclear power, including follow-up nuclear power plant construction, nuclear fuel supply chains, and small modular reactors (SMRs). In the defense sector, they also agreed to deepen the defense partnership by continuously expanding exports of Korean weapon systems.
President Yoon Suk-yeol is speaking at the Korea-UAE summit held on the 29th at the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul with Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, President of the United Arab Emirates (UAE). [Image source=Yonhap News]
Mohamed Arrives at Yongsan Children’s Garden, Grand Welcome Ceremony
Before the summit, President Yoon held an official welcoming ceremony at 11 a.m., honoring President Mohamed with the highest level of protocol. The ceremony was held on a grand scale, distinct from other state visits. Around 10:50 a.m., President Mohamed arrived at Yongsan Children’s Garden and was greeted by about 400 members of the Ark Unit lined up on both sides as he moved by vehicle to the Presidential Office’s Jeonghyeon Hall. The ceremony featured 100 members of the traditional honor guard and military band, and a children’s welcoming group of about 120 people. The Presidential Air Force’s special flight team, the Black Eagles, performed a celebratory flight emitting smoke in the colors of the UAE flag with eight aircraft. President Mohamed attended the official welcoming ceremony, summit, signing of agreements and memoranda of understanding (MOUs), and the official luncheon. First Lady Kim Keon-hee attended the official welcoming ceremony, guestbook signing, and commemorative photo session.
After concluding the summit schedule, President Mohamed is scheduled to visit former President Lee Myung-bak’s residence in the afternoon. This visit was arranged at the request of the UAE side, and the relationship between the two began during the UAE nuclear power plant contract process in 2009. The Presidential Office stated, "The two leaders agreed to communicate frequently and cooperate closely to develop bilateral relations going forward."
President Yoon Suk-yeol and President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are greeting attendees, including members of the Ark Unit and the children's welcome group, after the official state welcome ceremony for the UAE president held on the lawn in front of the Yongsan Presidential Office building in Seoul on the 29th. [Image source=Yonhap News]
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