Korea pledges greater cooperation with UAE

The foreign ministers of Korea and the United Arab Emirates have agreed to expand cooperation between the two countries in economy, security and other major fields, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said on Wednesday.

The agreement came at the third session of the bilateral Strategic Dialogue held in Abu Dhabi a day earlier, co-chaired by Korea’s foreign minister, Kang Kyung-wha, and her UAE counterpart Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan. The previous meetings took place in Seoul in 2012 and New York in 2016 on the sidelines of a UN General Assembly session.

Kang made a two-day visit to Abu Dhabi for the talks, which focused on ways to strengthen strategic cooperation in areas of economy, commerce, investment, defense and culture, as well as renewable energy, infrastructure, health care, medical services, science and technology.

Korea and the United Arab Emirates established diplomatic ties in 1980 and have since maintained close relations. In 2009, Korea won a $20 billion contract to construct four nuclear reactors in the Middle Eastern nation, and since 2011 it has stationed 140 Korean soldiers in the special Akh Unit to help train local troops.

In March, President Moon Jae-in had a summit meeting with Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al-Nahyan in Abu Dhabi. They upgraded the two countries’ relationship to a “special strategic partnership” and agreed to launch working-level consultations on potential joint projects, including nuclear power stations in other countries such as Saudi Arabia.

Yonhap