Naver expects to export ICT know-how to Middle Eest market

A high-ranking delegation from the royal family of Sharjah, one of the seven United Arab Emirates, led by Sheikh Saud bin Sultan Al Qasimi, Director of Sharjah Digital Office, on Monday visited the high-tech second headquarters of South Korea's online platform titan Naver Corp.

This is expected to stimulate an alliance and cooperation in information and communications technology (ICT) between Naver and Sharjah.

Naver said the delegation visited Naver 1784 to experience the company's "tech convergence" of combining space with cutting-edge technologies such as robots, self-driving and the cloud. Sheik Saud leads the Sharjah Digital Authority, which oversees the setup of his emirate's digital infrastructure.

"The royal delegation requested a visit to the company to seek opportunities for cooperation at the national level with Korea in digital innovation and infrastructure construction," Naver said.

The company said Sheik Saud on the same day held talks with Chae Seon-joo, Naver's chief communications officer and head of public relations, and Ha Jung-woo, head of Naver Cloud's artificial intelligence (AI) innovation center. The sheik is known to have shown interest in generative AI based on his native tongue and discussed cooperation related to the technology with Naver.

While checking South Korea's developed digital infrastructure and technology, he said he gained insight into Sharjah's digital innovation and infrastructure construction.

Naver is expected to expand its global influence by taking over Sharjah's main digital business. Though the emirate boasts a 5G communications network even faster than South Korea's and is where mobile shopping developed, the absence of a homegrown ICT company has caused many difficulties in the development and implementation of digital strategy.

"Naver's cutting-edge technologies are attracting attention on the global stage," Chae said.

In November last year, Naver had a Saudi Arabian entourage led by the country's Minister of Municipality, Rural Affairs and Housing Majed bin Abdullah Al-Hogail visit Naver 1784 and sign an agreement on digital transformation.

Write to Ji-Eun Jeong at jeong@hankyung.com