President Moon Jae-in on Jan. 17 gives a keynote address at the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and later the ceremony for the Zayed Award at the Dubai Exhibition Center in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates. 

By Kim Hyelin and Lee Jihae

Photos = Yonhap News

President Moon Jae-in, who is on a tour of three Arab nations, on Jan. 18 completed his four-day visit of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and left for his second destination of Saudi Arabia.

Invited by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, the president is the first Korean leader to visit the country in seven years.

To stay until Jan. 19, the chief executive will hold an official summit and luncheon with the crown prince in the Saudi capital of Riyadh to discuss expanding two-way cooperation to mark the 60th anniversary of bilateral ties. The two leaders will also talk about going beyond raising collaboration in traditional sectors such as construction and energy to future-centric industries such as health care and medicine and science and technology.

In his keynote address at a bilateral forum on smart innovation growth, President Moon will express support for Korean corporate advance to the Arab nation. Afterwards, he will visit the town of Diriyah, the original home of the ruling Saudi family and a UNESCO World Heritage site.

Earlier on Jan. 15, he arrived in Dubai, the UAE, and started his itinerary there the next day.

His first stop was the UAE-Korea Business Roundtable on Hydrogen Partnership and Expo 2020 Dubai's "Korea National Day" event.

On the same day, President Moon held a summit with UAE Prime Minister Mohammed bin Rashid Al Maktoum, who is also ruler of Dubai, and discussed cooperation in the defense industry.

The president on Jan. 17 attended and gave keynote speeches at the opening ceremonies of the Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week and the Zayed Award. He also held a luncheon with officials of the Korea Pavilion at the expo.

He also visited Sheikh Khalifa Specialty Hospital, which is considered a successful example of Korean-UAE cooperation in health care and medicine, and encouraged the medical team and staff there. The public hospital was established by the UAE government with 246 beds, and in 2014, the UAE presidential office commissioned Seoul National University Hospital, Korea's top medical institution, to manage the UAE hospital. 

President Moon Jae-in on Jan. 16 waves to the crowd and first lady Kim Jung-sook claps while watching a K-pop concert at Jubilee Park of Expo 2020 Dubai in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates.