President Park Geun-hye, currently in Saudi Arabia on a four-state visit to the Middle East, held a bilateral summit with Salman bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, the king of Saudi Arabia, on March 3 at the Erga Palace in Riyadh. The two heads of state discussed ways to strengthen their bilateral partnership and to develop co-prosperity across a range of sectors.

President Park mentioned that Saudi Arabia means quite a lot to Korea, as it is Korea's largest oil supplier, the largest market for Korean construction projects overseas and is Korea's largest trade partner in the Middle East. Describing the bilateral relationship as "rafiqi," which roughly means "friend" in Arabic, she suggested the two nations enhance cooperation on national development based on creativity and innovation. She also noted that the Korean government's Three Year Plans for Economic Innovation are in line with Saudi Arabia's long-term strategy for the year 2024.


President Park hoped that the bilateral relationship would further develop based on mutual trust, and that the exchange of senior-level workers would occur more actively.

After her remarks, Salman explained that the original meaning of "rafiqi" is that you should decide upon a friend before you begin a long journey into the desert, adding that he suggests Korea and Saudi Arabia work together to become such trusted partners and enjoy the mutual benefits of such a relationship.

Speaking about the ways in which the bilateral relationship has progressed, particularly in the areas of oil and construction, President Park hoped that bilateral cooperation could be expanded and diversified into the areas of nuclear power plants, information technology, renewable energy, public health & medicine, investment and security.

Salman agreed with her remarks, saying that he expects to see more memoranda of understanding (MOU) signed across a wider range of sectors. He mentioned that he hoped to expand cooperation and maximize the mutual benefits in the areas of broadcasting and communications technology, in which the Saudi people have a lot of interest. President Park replied that Korea would generate items of mutual interest.

President Park also said that it was meaningful that the two countries had signed two MOUs, one for cooperation on SMART, Korea's nuclear power reactor, and another on training the workforce. She said that it was a "smart choice" to choose SMART because of its technology and efficiency. She said that it is meaningful that the two countries work together to commercialize the somewhat smaller nuclear power reactor. She added that the first SMART reactor will be built in Saudi Arabia, and that afterward it can hopefully make inroads into a third country, paving the way to the global market.

President Park went on to say that she believed the two countries have a lot to share in terms of economic cooperation because both have been mutually pursuing an innovation-oriented development of the economy. In that sense, the newly-signed MOU covering the so-called "creative economy" in the two nations is very meaningful, she said.

President Park also expressed her hope that Korea expand cooperation on the regional and global stage, such as at the Gulf Cooperation Council, with Saudi Arabia, the only G-20 member in the Middle East and the heartland of Islam. Salman hoped that the two nations would work together to make contributions to regional peace and security through close cooperation on the exchange of senior-level people.

Finally, President Park asked for Saudi Arabia to participate in and cooperate on the seventh World Water Forum, set to take place this coming April. Salman replied that Saudi Arabia would actively take part in and support the program, as his nation has much interest in the issue.


After the bilateral summit, with the two heads of state were present when two MOUs were signed coving cooperation on maritime transport, on forming a partnership for the SMART reactor and on training manpower, and on cooperation on the "creative economy."

By Wi Tack-whan, Lee Seung-ah
Photo: Cheong Wa Dae
Korea.net Staff Writers
whan23@korea.kr