The President of UAE His Highness Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan completed his two-day visit to the Republic of South Korea from May 28-29, 2024. The visit followed an invitation from H.E. Yoon Suk Yeol, President of the Republic of Korea.
On the first day of the visit, the President of UAE met his South Korean counterpart and First Lady Kim Keon-hee as part of his visit to the Republic of Korea. The UAE President and Her Highness Sheikha Mariam bint Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attended the traditional tea ceremony and received the banquet in their honor as well.
Highlights of the Visit
On 29 May, His Highness Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and His Excellency Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit meeting at the Presidential Office. During the summit, the two leaders agreed to deepen and further develop the Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries.
According to the joint statement released by South Korea, the two leaders expressed their steadfast commitment to strengthening strategic cooperation in fields of prime concern, including economy and investment, conventional energy and clean energy, peaceful nuclear energy, defence and defence technology, cyber security; as well as other areas of mutual interest such as infrastructure, high-tech industry, space, water technology, information and communication technology, SMEs and start-ups, agriculture, maritime transportation, civil aviation, education, culture and healthcare. Both leaders also explored the possibility of trilateral cooperation with other partners and exchanged their perspectives on extremism.
In a breakthrough development, the leaders witnessed the signing of a landmark Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), thereby ushering into a fresh chapter of economic cooperation and mutual growth. The agreement was signed at the Office of the President in Seoul by Dr. Thani bin Ahmed Al Zeyoudi, Minister of State for Foreign Trade, UAE and Ahn Duk-geun, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea.
According to the statement released by UAE, “the UAE-Korea agreement is the latest in the UAE’s CEPA foreign trade programme, which is designed to propel non-oil foreign trade beyond AED4 trillion by 2031 by removing or reducing tariffs, enhancing market access to exporters, eliminating trade barriers, and creating platforms for private sector collaboration. Under the terms of the agreement, companies and investors from both sides will benefit from the elimination of almost all tariffs, the removal of trade barriers in vital sectors, including energy and resources, healthcare, advanced industries, smart farms, and bio-economy, in addition to greater access to markets in fast-growing regions of the Middle East and Asia”.
As per the Joint Declaration by South Korea, “understanding the mutual benefits and significant growth opportunities that CEPA offers to the UAE and South Korea, the two leaders underlined their commitment to expanding mutual investments in their countries’ economies and other domains of importance with special focus on key sectors including infrastructure, high tech and emerging industries, space, information communication and technology, SMEs and startups, agriculture, and maritime transport. Both leaders acknowledged that UAE-Korea CEPA will reinforce East-West supply chains, facilitate two-way FDI inflows, and enhance joint research and knowledge exchange across a range of sectors, including energy, advanced manufacturing, technology, food security and healthcare.
His Highness expressed his gratitude for the generous hospitality extended by the President of the Republic of Korea and invited him for a visit to the UAE soon. The leaders agreed to further develop the Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Meeting with Emirati students and business leaders was a part of the event.
