By Diplomacy Journal Lee Jon-young

President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit with President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahayan of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on May 29, reaffirming the UAE's pledge to invest USD 30 billion (approx. KRW 40 trillion) in Korea.

Korea and the UAE signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on the occasion of the summit. The UAE is the first Arab country to sign a comprehensive economic partnership agreement with Korea.

The presidential office said that the summit confirmed the achievements of the UAE's sovereign wealth fund's $30 billion investment pledge. “Currently, UAE institutions such as Mubadala are reviewing more than $6 billion in investment opportunities in the Korean market through investment cooperation channels,” it said.

During Yoon's state visit to the UAE in January last year, President Mohamed pledged $30 billion in investment in South Korea.

The presidential office said the CEPA “lays the institutional foundation for further strengthening the bilateral economic partnership in a comprehensive range of areas, including trade liberalization and investment expansion.”

In the energy sector, a letter of intent was signed between Abu Dhabi National Oil Company (ADNOC) and Korean companies to build LNG carriers. This paves the way for South Korean companies to receive orders for at least six LNG carriers, valued at approximately $1.5 billion, with options for additional orders.

The two countries also signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to discuss expanding their joint crude oil stockpile, which currently stands at 4 million barrels, and a memorandum of understanding to establish a support system for hydrogen cooperation.

“Based on the successful bilateral cooperation on the Barakah Nuclear Power Plant, they agreed to continue exploring the potential for future cooperation in areas such as the construction of follow-on units, nuclear fuel supply chain, and small modular reactors (SMRs),” the presidential office said.

In the high-tech sector, the two countries will strengthen corporate partnerships through the Middle East IT Support Center, expand joint research and development through a global AI research center, and exchange talent.

In the field of defense and defense technology, they confirmed their consensus on strengthening long-term and strategic defense cooperation, including expanding defense cooperation centered on the AKH unit and achieving early results in defense cooperation under discussion between the two countries.

The presidential office said the summit “strengthened the momentum of the ‘new Middle East boom’ created through active summit diplomacy with Middle Eastern countries and demonstrated economic diplomacy and people-to-people diplomacy with concrete results.”

Prior to the summit, President Yoon hosted an official welcome ceremony on the lawn of the presidential palace to greet President Mohamed. The Air Force Special Air Service Black Eagles flew a celebratory flyover, and members of the Traditional Dress Corps, Quetta Corps, and Akh Units welcomed the UAE president to Korea.    

After the welcome ceremony, President Yoon and President Mohamed proceeded to the second floor of the presidential office, where they signed the guest book and posed for a commemorative photo.    

The two leaders then discussed bilateral cooperation and signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.