S.Korea, UAE sign economic partnership, reaffirm $30 bn investment

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates on Wednesday signed a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) to facilitate bilateral trade after their leaders reaffirmed the UAE’s $30 billion investment in the Asian country at their summit meeting in Seoul.

Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol and UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan signed the pact at Korea’s presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul.

Sheikh Mohamed flew to Seoul on Tuesday for a two-day state visit.

To welcome his first Seoul trip, Korea sent four Air Force F-15 fighter jets to escort the UAE president’s plane to the city after it entered the country’s air defense identification zone.

Government officials said the UAE is the first Arab nation to sign a CEPA deal with Korea.

RECIPROCAL VISIT

The summit comes after Yoon's state visit to Abu Dhabi early last year, when the UAE pledged $30 billion in investment in Korean businesses across strategic sectors, including nuclear power, defense, hydrogen and solar energy.

Officials said the investment will be led by the UAE’s sovereign wealth funds, including Mubadala Investment Co.

In addition to Mubadala, two other major UAE sovereign funds – the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority and the Investment Corporation of Dubai – will likely invest in various Korean sectors, officials said.

The three UAE sovereign funds run a combined $1.4 trillion in assets under management globally.

While reaffirming the $30 billion investment, Seoul’s presidential office said on Wednesday Mubadala and other UAE funds are currently reviewing over $6 billion in investment in Korea.

Sheikh Mohamed’s Seoul visit comes as Korea seeks to tap the energy-rich Gulf state's investment potential.

Following the summit, industry leaders of the two countries signed a total of 19 business deals, memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and letters of intent (LOIs) on joint projects.

Under an LOI signed between the state-run Abu Dhabi National Oil Co. (ADNOC) and Korea’s two shipbuilders – Samsung Heavy Industries Co. and Hanwha Ocean Co. – Korea will build at least six LNG carriers worth $1.5 billion.

The two nations also agreed to strengthen their cooperation in joint crude oil storage, small modular reactor (SMR) construction and hydrogen projects.

Korea and the UAE have been expanding their business tie-ups, with one of the most significant ones being the $20 billion Barakah plant, the UAE's first nuclear power station. The Barakah plant also marks Korea's first overseas nuclear power plant construction project.

BLACK EAGLES’ FLYPAST

Ahead of the summit, the Korean Air Force’s Black Eagles aerobatic team demonstrated a flypast over the presidential office to honor the UAE president’s first Seoul visit.

On Tuesday, Sheikh Mohamed had meetings with Korea’s top business executives, including Samsung Electronics Co.’s Jay Y. Lee, Hyundai Motor Co.’s Chung Euisun, SK Inc.’s Chey Tae-won and Hanwha Corp.’s Kim Dong-kwan as well as Bang Si-hyuk, chairman of HYBE Co., the label behind global K-pop sensations BTS and NewJeans.

Korea and the UAE’s bilateral trade reached $20.8 billion in 2023, a significant increase from $190 million in 1980, making the Middle Eastern country Korea’s 14th-largest trading partner.

In 2022, the UAE signed a deal to purchase the Cheongung II midrange surface-to-air missile system with Korea’s LIG Nex1 Co.

Write to Gil-Sung Yang at vertigo@hankyung.com

In-Soo Nam edited this article.