ABU DHABI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol obtained an honor guard welcome Sunday on a visit to the United Arab Emirates as he hopes to increase his nation’s navy gross sales right here.
Yoon’s go to comes as South Korea conducts enterprise offers value billions of {dollars} and stations particular forces troops to defend the UAE, an association that drew criticism beneath his liberal predecessor. Now, nevertheless, it seems the conservative chief desires to double down on these navy hyperlinks whilst tensions with neighboring Iran have already seen Tehran seize a South Korean oil tanker in 2021.
“I feel that the state of affairs within the Center East is altering very quickly with regards to geopolitics,” mentioned June Park, a fellow with the Worldwide Technique Discussion board at Schmidt Futures. “So Korea desires to ensure among the strategic partnerships and the parts … with the UAE” stay sturdy.
Yoon arrived at Qasr Al Watan palace in Abu Dhabi on Sunday. He was greeted by Emirati chief Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, who took workplace in Could after serving because the nation’s de facto ruler for years.
An honor guard of historically dressed Emiratis greeted Yoon and his spouse, Kim Keon Hee. They twirled mannequin Lee-Enfield rifles alongside troops on camelback and horseback. Inside, a navy band performed the South Korean and Emirati nationwide anthems.
After the ceremony, South Korea’s Yonhap information company quoted Sheikh Mohammed as saying the UAE deliberate to take a position $30 billion in South Korea. “We determined to make the funding with confidence within the Republic of Korea that retains its guarantees beneath all circumstances,” he mentioned.
The report didn’t elaborate.
Whereas energy-hungry South Korea does depend on the Emirates for just below 10 % of its crude oil provide, Seoul has struck a collection of offers far past oil with this nation of seven sheikhdoms that intently tie the nation to Abu Dhabi. South Korea’s commerce with the UAE is into the billions of {dollars} value of vehicles, materials and different items.
The significance of the journey for Seoul may very well be seen within the South Korean enterprise leaders attending a camel meat luncheon on the palace. They included Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Euisun Chung, Samsung Electronics Govt Chairman Lee Jae-yong and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.
Earlier than Yoon’s journey, officers described the go to as searching for to solidify the ties between the 2 nations.
“This go to will strengthen strategic cooperation with our brother nation UAE within the 4 core cooperative sectors of nuclear energy, vitality, funding and protection,” mentioned Kim Sung-han, director of nationwide safety in Yoon’s authorities.
On Saturday, Yonhap quoted an nameless presidency official as additionally saying that an arms deal was deliberate.
“The ambiance is extraordinarily ripe for safety or navy cooperation between South Korea and the UAE involving the arms trade,” the official mentioned, in accordance with Yonhap.
Already, South Korea reached a $3.5 billion cope with the UAE in 2022 to promote the M-SAM, a sophisticated air protection system designed to intercept missiles at altitudes beneath 40 kilometers (25 miles). Emirati officers have grown more and more involved about defending their airspace after being focused in long-range drone assaults by Yemen’s Iran-backed Houthi rebels.
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Whereas U.S. forces fired Patriot missiles for the primary time in fight because the 2003 Iraq invasion to defend Abu Dhabi throughout these assaults, the Emiratis have been hedging their reliance on American navy assist since America’s chaotic withdrawal from Afghanistan.
However South Korea’s largest undertaking stays the Barakah nuclear energy plant, Seoul’s first try to construct atomic reactors overseas. The $20 billion facility, which finally could have 4 reactors, is within the UAE’s western deserts close to the Saudi border and someday will account for practically 1 / 4 of all the Emirates’ energy wants.
It’s additionally key to the UAE’s plans to go carbon impartial by 2050, a pledge that takes on particular significance as it prepares to host the United Nations COP28 local weather negotiations starting in November in Dubai.
Yoon probably desires to guarantee the Emiratis that South Korea desires to be within the working for profitable upkeep contracts after his predecessor, President Moon Jae-in, had mentioned Seoul wished to maneuver away from nuclear vitality.
“The vitality coverage took on a 180 diploma shift” after the election, mentioned Park, the analyst. “So Korea is now for nuclear and I assume that the Yoon administration desires to ensure to the Emiratis that there is no such thing as a concern relating to coverage shifts or something like that.”
Then there’s additionally the nuclear tensions with North Korea. Yoon, a former high prosecutor, turned president in Could on a promise to take a tougher line on Pyongyang. Up till latest years, lots of of North Korean laborers have been believed to be working within the UAE and elsewhere within the Gulf Arab states, providing a money stream to Pyongyang because it seeks to evade mounting sanctions over its nuclear program.
Nonetheless, a crackdown has seen their numbers drastically drop as nations stopped renewing their visas. A latest U.N. skilled report famous that high-end digicam gear purchased within the UAE ended up in North Korea, whereas one other talked about a North Korean nationwide residing in Dubai acquiring overseas foreign money via a web-based app by mendacity about his nationality.
The U.N. additionally mentioned as lately as 2021 it had details about North Korean diplomats in Iran flying on Dubai-based long-haul provider Emirates smuggling gold with them.
