UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed State Visit to South Korea & China: Key Agendas and Outcomes
President of UAE HH Shiekh Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed started his state visit to Asia’s fourth biggest economy South Korea today. The visit is being held at the invitation of their South Korean and Chinese counterparts, Yoon Suk Yeol and Xi Jinping respectively.
Yoon Suk Yeol visited a Middle Eastern country in January 2023 where UAE announced a big investment of $30 billion in Korea. The major areas of investment are nuclear power, defense, hydrogen, solar energy, tourism, and education.
This visit of HH to Korea could constitute a major milestone in the graph of UAE’s relations with Korea.
Today when HH landed on the ground in South Korea on Tuesday, President Yoon Suk Yeol warmly welcomed the UAE President on Korean land.
The UAE President posted on his official X handle about this visit. He wrote “UAE-Korean relations are a distinguished model of positive and constructive relations, and the UAE is keen to expand its horizons for the benefit and development of the two countries.”
What are the main agendas of the state visit of the President of UAE to South Korea?
South Korea and UAE are separated by geopolitical locations but their ties for trade are very deep, they have been sharing good relations for more than a decade. Previously Korea won contracts to build nuclear reactors, including the Barakah Power Plant.
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According to the Korean Office statements these two states will discuss their “special strategic partnership.”
Today the President of the UAE met with top trade representatives Jay Y. Lee of Samsung Electronics, Chae Tae-won of SK Group, and E.S. Met with. Hyundai Motor Group’s Chung. It was a closed-door meeting whose details have not been revealed yet. According to experts, behind closed doors, Korean business tycoon and UAE leader explored the possibilities of the business sector behind the doors.
Before joining the meeting HD Hyundai Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun said “We are constantly looking for more ways to collaborate with the UAE in those areas, so I will explain our major upsides (during the meeting with the UAE president)”
For future trade and investment, energy initiatives, and defense industry cooperation are the focus agenda.
Today the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) hosted a business investment forum with the UAE, where they strengthened partnerships in eco-friendly energy and information and communication technology sectors.
On Tuesday, South Korean defense stocks experienced a notable boost, driven by the recent UAE state visit. Hanwha Aerospace and LIG Nex1 saw their shares increase by over 5%, while Korea Aerospace Industries enjoyed a 7.1% rise. Market analysts highlighted the visit as a key factor in this surge.
UAE Relation With China:
The United Arab Emirates is China’s largest trading partner in the Gulf region, with their main exchanges involving crude oil, petrochemicals, and they are working together on artificial intelligence. According to Zhang Yiming, the Chinese Ambassador to the UAE, Chinese investments in the UAE have grown by 16%, reaching $1.3 billion.
On the other side, UAE investments in China have surged by an impressive 120% over the past year, accounting for almost 90% of the investments from Middle Eastern and other Arab countries in China.
Japanese researcher Mr. Kondo mentioned that the UAE might explore a free trade agreement with China, although the China-GCC FTA negotiations have currently stalled with no clear restart date.
In 2022, the non-oil trade between the UAE and China reached AED 264.2 billion ($72 billion), an 18% increase from 2021’s AED 223.8 billion, as per official sources.
Key Highlights and Impact
Asia Pacific is a volatile region of the world due to the Red Sea which is the center of natural gas resources, shipping route to connect with the West, and most importantly the Chinese presence here. Gulf states increasing activities and cooperation in the APAC region can be fruitful for the growth of the region and fulfill the motto of “one earth”.
This visit is important for America because it can impact American strategies for APAC and Gulf countries.
