South Korea-UAE visit showcases alignment on arms, energy deals
A $30 billion pledge from the UAE to invest in South Korean industries was one outcome of the four-day visit
Arms, investment and energy deals were front and center during South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s state visit to the United Arab Emirates that concluded on Tuesday, as Seoul's economic interests in the Gulf nation rapidly expand.
The four-day visit that ended saw a host of agreements and memoranda of understanding signed in Abu Dhabi with a delegation of over 100 Korean business leaders.
They included a $30 billion pledge from the UAE to invest in South Korean industries, almost double the Emirates’ $17.17 billion federal budget for 2023.
The details of the investment have not been revealed, but it will be directed at nuclear power, defense, hydrogen and solar energy industries that are led by sovereign wealth funds including the UAE's Mubadala Investment Company, according to Seoul’s Finance Ministry.
