The UAE and South Korea…a strategic partnership seeking development and prosperity

ABU DHABI, 16 November / WAM / The United Arab Emirates and the Republic of South Korea are linked by a special strategic partnership, which has given their bilateral relations exceptional importance and has constantly pushed them towards further growth and progress, embodying their visions of promoting development and prosperity for the peoples of both countries.

The “state visit” by His Excellency Lee Jae-myung, President of the Republic of Korea, to the Emirates tomorrow, Monday, represents a prominent milestone in the historical path of bilateral relations between the two countries, which began about 45 years ago.

The UAE is one of the first countries in the Middle East to establish a special strategic partnership with the Republic of South Korea, which included multiple fields such as politics, economics, nuclear cooperation, climate change, cybersecurity, food security, defense, healthcare, culture, government administration, in addition to space.

The two countries are keen to strengthen the solid foundations of their bilateral relationship through the ongoing dialogue between the two sides on a permanent basis, and periodic exchange visits between senior officials of the two countries, as well as the special strategic dialogue that they have held periodically since 2019.

The economic and investment relations between the two countries continue to develop and grow, as the total value of non-oil trade between the UAE and South Korea reached $6.6 billion in 2024, recording a growth of 11.4% compared to 2023, and by 17.8% and 40.8% compared to 2022 and 2021, respectively. While the value of non-oil foreign trade between the two countries exceeded $3.14 billion during the first half. From 2025.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries represents one of the achievements of the foreign trade program implemented by the UAE, which aims to contribute to increasing the value of non-oil foreign trade to more than 4 trillion dirhams by 2031. After the agreement enters into force, investors and companies from both sides will benefit from the abolition of most customs duties and the removal of barriers to trade in the most important sectors, including energy, resources, health care, advanced industries, smart farms and the bioeconomy, in addition to enhancing access to markets in the rapidly growing regions in the Middle East and Asia.

In 2023, the UAE announced the commitment of its sovereign investment bodies to invest $30 billion in strategic sectors in the Republic of Korea. The two countries also agreed, during the eighth session of their Joint Economic Committee, to expand and diversify the umbrella of economic cooperation in 11 strategic sectors and stimulate mutual investments in them.

The Barakah Peaceful Nuclear Energy Project embodies a distinguished model of development cooperation between the two friendly countries, not only in terms of its material value, but also because it is the first nuclear power plant construction project implemented by South Korea abroad after the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation granted in December 2009 a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Company (KEPCO) an offer worth $20 billion to build the project.

The two countries provide a distinguished model of cooperation in the tourism and aviation sector, with the increase in the number of flights and the continuous growth in tourism flows between them, as the number of tourists coming from Korea to the UAE exceeds 200,000 visitors annually.

In July 2023, the two countries agreed to increase tourism exchange, including providing support to emerging companies entering the tourism market in the two countries, and to continue implementing various joint projects by benefiting from the results of the “Korean Travel Week in the UAE,” which was held in May of the same year.

The two countries are keen to strengthen cultural and scientific relations through a set of initiatives and measures, such as the opening of the Korean Cultural Center in Abu Dhabi, and hosting a special festival for Korean culture, which has become a major event on the agenda of annual events taking place in the Emirates, as well as the opening of a branch of the “King Sejong” Institute in the Emirate of Sharjah and at Zayed University in Al Ain, which are witnessing an increase in the number of students wishing to learn about the Korean language and culture year after year.

The Ministry of Culture, in cooperation with the Korean Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism, launched the “Emirati-Korean Cultural Dialogue 2020” program, in celebration of the 40th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries.

In the medical field, the two countries have concluded many agreements, memorandums of understanding and cooperation that include medical evaluation and licensing programmes, hospital management and the exchange of medical expertise, in addition to the exchange of expertise in medical education.

Last June, Dubai Healthcare City witnessed, within the framework of its second phase, the laying of the foundation stone for the “Asan-Emirates Hospital for Treating Digestive Diseases”, a project of the Emirati company Scope Investments, to be the first global branch of Asan Hospital, one of the largest hospitals and health care centers in South Korea, which will contribute to providing the latest health care services and educational opportunities in the field of digestive diseases.

Many specialized Korean health companies operate major hospitals in the Emirates, given Korea’s good reputation for medical care and modern technologies used in the health care sector and customer care services.

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