S. Korea ready to become 'most trusted' partner for UAE in adopting AI, achieving carbon goals, Lee says
Entrepreneurs from South Korea and the United Arab Emirates gathered Wednesday for a business roundtable held during President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to the UAE, part of his four-nation trip running through Nov. 26.
Lee said in his remarks that South Korea will become a "most trusted" partner with the UAE in its steps toward the adoption of artificial intelligence technologies and achieving carbon goals, in addition to their ongoing bilateral economic cooperation in nuclear energy and defense that is expected to broaden by seeking joint entry into markets in the Middle East, Africa and Europe.
"Based on our semiconductor technology, including the cutting-edge high-bandwidth memory technology, and our capabilities to deliver a one-stop service from engineering, procurement and construction, South Korea will become the most trusted partner for the UAE's leap forward as an artificial intelligence hub by 2031," Lee said.
"The cooperation for energy transition, combining the UAE's solar power potential with Korea's advanced battery technology, will contribute highly to our joint achievement of carbon neutrality by 2050 and the growth of new eco-friendly industries."
The roundtable in Abu Dhabi focused on future-oriented cooperation between the two countries’ private sectors in advanced technology, energy, infrastructure, defense and culture — areas that the presidential office said would “broaden the horizon for bilateral economic cooperation.”
As to cooperation in advanced technology, representatives of chip-to-mobile firm Samsung Electronics, automaker Hyundai Motor, home appliance-maker LG Electronics, chip-to-telecom firm SK and internet portal operator Naver met with officials of relevant UAE-based firms such as Presight, Hub71 and National Pulse Group, as well as sovereign wealth fund Mubadala, to work together in the fields of AI and smart city.
For industrial cooperation, South Korean energy firm GS Energy outlined ways for a transition involving renewable energy sources such as hydrogen and ammonia, while the state-run utility Korea Electric Power Corp. and Emirates Nuclear Energy Co. vowed to expand cooperation to build combined cycle power plants, adopt the high-voltage direct current system for power transmission and introduce energy storage systems.
CJ Group also laid out ways to increase Korean entertainment content in the Middle East, while Samyang Foods presented plans to localize its products and establish a halal supply chain, meeting with representatives of UAE-based Lulu Group and Sarya Holdings.
The roundtable was jointly hosted by the Federation of Korean Industries, the state-backed Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency, the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Trade and the Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce and Industry.
Among some 50 participants in the event, South Korea’s delegation included Samsung Electronics Executive Chair Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Executive Chair Chung Euisun, Hanwha Group Vice Chair Kim Dong-kwan, Ryu Young-sang, head of the SK Supex Council’s AI Committee at SK Group, and LG Electronics CEO Cho Joo-wan.
Also joining the roundtable in the UAE were senior leaders in nuclear energy, defense and culture, including LIG Nex1 CEO Shin Ik-hyun, HD Hyundai Vice Chair Cho Seok, Naver CEO Choi Soo-yeon, Korea Electric Power Corp. CEO Kim Dong-cheol, Doosan Enerbility Vice Chair Jung Yeon-in, GS Energy CEO Huh Yong-soo, CJ Group Vice Chair Lee Seok-jun and Samyang Foods Vice Chair Kim Jung-soo.
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