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| ▲ This photo taken Nov. 7, 2022, shows the site for Saudi Arabia's Neom City project in the northwestern province of Tabuk. (Yonhap) |
S Korea-Saudi Arabia-biz talks
Biz leaders of S. Korea, Saudi Arabia discuss future cooperation
SEOUL, Nov. 17 (Yonhap) -- Business leaders of South Korea and Saudi Arabia discussed ways Thursday to deepen their economic partnership, citing climate change, space technology and bio as new areas the two sides can cooperate on as future investment.
The Korea-Saudi Business Council, co-hosted by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry and the Federation of Saudi Chamber, took place as Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman is visiting South Korea on a trip expected to center on enhancing business ties between the two countries. He arrived here late Wednesday.
Participants at the gathering noted that Riyadh's Vision 2030 reform drive, being pushed for by Prince Mohammed, offers a chance for the two countries to boost investment, especially as both sides have shown keen interest in Saudi's Neom City and Red Sea projects.
The Neom City project seeks to build a new sustainable city incorporating smart technologies and a major tourist site in the northwestern province of Tabuk. The Red Sea project aims to create a luxury tourism destination along the west coast of Saudi Arabia.
The Vision 2030 calls for reducing Saudi's dependence on oil and securing other growth engines. South Korea is one of the five key partner countries picked by Riyadh for the initiative.
The economic cooperation between South Korea and Saudi Arabia should seek to diversify cooperation into climate change, digital and bio technologies, as well as the traditional areas of large infrastructure, construction and energy, Kang Moon-soo, a senior researcher at the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy, said during his presentation at the forum.
"As Korea and Saudi have declared carbon neutrality and been bolstering the push for renewable energy like hydrogen, we need to bring the mutual cooperation closer for energy diversification," Kang said.
"The need for a diverse cooperation also applies to new areas like entertainment, aerospace technology, bio and tourism, as Saudi has been active with its investment in those industries," he said.
Some 40 participants attended the event, including Kim Dong-wook, executive vice president at Hyundai Motor Co., and Fahad Wallan, chairman of Wallan Group, as chief representatives of the economic cooperation committee.
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