By Reporter Anna Kim

President Yoon Suk-yeol received His Excellency Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, Foreign Minister of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), who is visiting Korea as part of his Asian tour, and exchanged views on ways to strengthen bilateral relations in various fields, including politics and economy on June 13.

President Yoon recalled the warm hospitality extended to him by the UAE during his visit in January and asked him to convey his warm regards to President Mohammed bin Abdullah. 

The President also expressed his gratitude to the UAE for its swift assistance in facilitating the safe withdrawal of our people from Sudan in April.

Minister Abdullah conveyed President Mohammed's special greetings to the President Yoon and mentioned that through the President's state visit to the UAE in January, which was the first of its kind since the establishment of diplomatic relations, the two countries have become even closer as brotherly nations, and the bilateral relationship has reached an unprecedented level of closeness. Additionally, Minister Abdullah mentioned that Vice President Mansour of the UAE, who owns the football team Manchester City, achieved a remarkable victory in the UEFA Champions League and is considering Korea as one of the potential destinations for their summer tour.

The President said that the recent strengthening of economic ties between Korea and the UAE, especially the UAE's decision to invest USD 30 billion in Korea during his state visit in January, has paved the way for deeper economic cooperation between the two countries, and he pledged to work together to ensure that investment cooperation is mutually beneficial and economically effective for both countries. He also called for further strengthening of strategic cooperation and concrete results in areas such as nuclear power and defense.

Minister Abdullah responded that the Republic of Korea is an important strategic partner for the UAE, and that we are making good progress in implementing investment cooperation as promised, and hope to expand cooperation in various fields such as green energy, including hydrogen, investment, and defense.

The UAE is one of our closest allies in the Middle East and the only country with which we have a special strategic partnership. Foreign Minister Abdullah's visit is considered an opportunity to review the results of his state visit in January and discuss the future development of bilateral relations.