Policies

Oct 23, 2023

▲The Riyadh Daily, part of Saudi Arabia's newspaper Al-Riyadh Arabic, on Oct. 22 published a written interview with President Yoon Suk Yeol (right), who is on a state visit to Saudi Arabia. Shown next to him is Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. (Screen shot from Al Riyadh's official website)

The Riyadh Daily, part of Saudi Arabia's newspaper Al-Riyadh Arabic, on Oct. 22 published a written interview with President Yoon Suk Yeol (right), who is on a state visit to Saudi Arabia. Shown next to him is Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. (Screen shot from Al Riyadh's official website)


By Israa Mohamed

President Yoon has given a written interview to Al-Riyadh Arabic, a leading daily in Saudi Arabia, on the occasion of his state visit to the Arab country.


"I believe that through Saudi capabilities and South Korean technology, there will be limitless areas for complementary cooperation," he said in the interview carried by the newspaper's official English-language version Riyadh Daily.


"The Republic of Korea and the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia are collaborating in the fields of politics, economy, and culture among many other fields, which has steadily expanded the scope and depth of our cooperation," President Yoon said in the interview carried in Al-Riyadh Arabic's Nov. 22 edition through the article headlined "Korea-Saudi Arabia, Solidarity and Cooperation." 


"This was the perfect time to take our bilateral relations to a new level, especially as Saudi Arabia is at the threshold of a different and brighter future."

In addition to being Korea's top crude oil supplier and largest trading partner in the Middle East, he said, Saudi Arabia is "one of our main friends that has been supporting our position as regards North Korea's nuclear program and the Korean Peninsula issues in other international forums, including the United Nations."


"Going beyond our traditional energy cooperation and resource export-import relations, our two countries are now expanding areas of cooperation to include plant construction, hydrogen supply chains, and other diverse fields," he added. "We have seen Saudi youth enjoy Korean arts, performances, and dramas such as 'K-pop.' Therefore, last September 2022 the first Korean language institute in the Kingdom– the King Sejong Institute – was opened."


Turning to Saudi Arabia's 2030 Vision strategy, President Yoon said, "As a contributor to this ambitious vision, the Republic of Korea strives to become a partner of Saudi Arabia in its economic and industrial development." 


"In particular, the South Korea-Saudi Vision 2030 ministerial Committee, a key platform for bilateral economic cooperation, has played a pivotal role in strengthening our relations in various fields, such as the automotive industry, shipbuilding, bio-health, and culture."

As for construction and infrastructure, he mentioned Hyundai Engineering & Construction's construction of the Saudi Ministry of Interior's headquarters in downtown Riyadh, adding, "I believe that Korean companies will become the perfect partners for Saudi Arabia in the construction of modern Saudi projects such as NEOM and other new cities."


President Yoon also pledged to strengthen bilateral cooperation in carbon neutrality. 


"South Korea aims to develop carbon capture, use, and storage (CCUS) technology with the widespread use of high-efficiency Carbon-free Energy (CFE) such as nuclear power and hydrogen," he said. "Since Saudi Arabia has huge hydrogen production, relying on renewable energy and natural gas, I hope that our two countries will work together to achieve a hydrogen economy."

On North Korea, President Yoon said, "Since Saudi Arabia has stood firmly in international forums on the side of nuclear non-proliferation, the Republic of Korea is willing to cooperate actively with the Kingdom to prevent North Korea from developing nuclear weapons and missiles and using them to provoke its neighbors."


ess8@korea.kr