AsiaToday reporter Hong Sun-mi

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on Wednesday signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), marking Seoul’s first such deal with an Arab country. The signing of the CEPA on the occasion of UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan’s state visit to Seoul is expected to further strengthen the economic partnership between the two countries.

The UAE reaffirmed its earlier commitment to invest US$30 billion into South Korean businesses, and decided to review investment opportunities worth over US$6 billion in the South Korean market. Other major achievements of the South Korae-UAE summit include a deal between the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Company and two Korean shipbuilders - Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean - to build LNG carriers worth $1.5 billion, and the decision to strengthen cooperation in the AI sector.

Analysts say that the two countries, which started exchanges in the 1980s with the construction infrastructure sector, have expanded the scope of their cooperation in various fields, going beyond solidifying cooperation in four key areas of investment, energy, nuclear power and defense, and even pushing for cooperation in high-tech areas such as AI. President Yoon Suk-yeol and UAE President Al Nahyan held a summit at the presidential office in Seoul and assessed that the two countries’ commitment to develop their “special strategic partnership to the highest level were being fulfilled, according to the presidential office. 

“The reciprocal state visits by the leaders within a 16-month period show that the two countries’ relations are now at their peak,” President Yoon said. In response, UAE President Mohamed said that he is proud of the relationship between Korea and the UAE, emphasizing that it is irreplaceable. He also expressed his desire to elevate the bilateral relationship to an even higher level.

The leaders of the two countries signed 19 deals in four key areas as well as infrastructure and climate change. They shared a separate roadmap for cooperation for the AI sector. “The leaders of the two countries expressed satisfaction with the faithful implementation of the US$30 billion investment commitment, and appreciated the smooth progress of the investment cooperation, with the UAE starting a review of investment opportunities worth more than US$6 billion,” the presidential office said. During the summit, Samsung Heavy Industries and Hanwha Ocean each signed a letter of intent to build a total of six LNG carriers worth $1.5 billion. The two countries also decided to start discussions on expanding their joint oil stockpiling project, which currently stands at 4 million barrels, and decided to establish a support basis for hydrogen cooperation projects. Based on their successful experience at the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant project, they also agreed to cooperate in all areas of the nuclear cycle, including the construction of follow-up reactors, the supply chain of nuclear fuel, and the small module nuclear power plant (SMR). The two countries agreed to jointly advance into the overseas nuclear power plant markets including Africa by taking advantage of their successful experience in nuclear power plant cooperation.