UAE pledges $30 billion investment in S. Korea

Bilateral summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and his counterpart Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Sunday [Photo by Lee Seung-hwan]

The United Arab Emirates (UAE) pledged to invest $30 billion in South Korea in the fields of mainly nuclear power, energy and defense, following a bilateral summit between President Yoon Suk-yeol and his counterpart Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Sunday.

“We have decided on the $30 billion investment based on the trust Korea keeps its promises under any circumstance,” the UAE president was quoted as saying by Korea’s presidential office.

The two leaders met Sunday during Yoon’s four-day state visit to the UAE.

Korea and the UAE signed more than 40 memoranda of understanding (MoU), including 13 under the presence of the two leaders.

“We hope (the summit) will be an important starting point to upgrade the special strategic partnership between Korea and the UAE to the highest level as we enhance strategic ties not only in four key areas, nuclear power, energy, investment, and arms, but also in future areas like new industries, health and medicine, and culture and people-to-people exchanges,” Yoon said.

President Mohamed also hoped to elevate the UAE’s strategic partnership with Korea.

MoUs were mainly focused on areas underscored by the UAE sovereign wealth fund such as nuclear power, defense and hydrogen sectors.

Of the MoUs signed under the two leaders’ presence, an agreement called for net zero acceleration program and another an administrative one that simplifies export procedures and enhances export item management system. The two countries also agreed to engage in an international joint reserve project to prepare for oil supply setback.