President Lee Jae-myung, who set out on a tour of four countries in the Middle East and Africa on the occasion of attending the Group of 20 (G20) summit, arrived in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), the first stop.
Lee arrived at Abu Dhabi Royal Airport in the UAE at about 3:15 p.m. on the 17th (local time). From the moment the Air Force One carrying Lee entered its airspace, the UAE escorted the state guest with four fighter jets, extending special courtesy.
Attendees at the airport arrival event included Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, nonexecutive director of First Abu Dhabi Bank (FAB) and chair of the board operations committee, and Minister of State Maitha bint Salem Al Shamsi. From Korea, Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik and acting Ambassador to the UAE Park Jong-kyeong and spouse greeted Lee and spouse at the airport.
Lee will begin the full-fledged tour that day with visits to the National Cemetery and the mausoleum of the UAE's founding president. He will then wrap up the first day's schedule with a dinner meeting with overseas Koreans and representatives of Korean firms on the ground.
On the second day, in line with the state visit, he will attend an official welcome ceremony, a summit, a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony, and a state luncheon. On the 19th, he will attend the Korea-UAE business roundtable to discuss ways to expand economic cooperation with business leaders from both countries.
In particular, four key areas—defense, defense industry, investment, nuclear power, and energy—are expected to be addressed. Wi Sung-lac, director of the Office of National Security, said at a briefing on the 14th, "We also aim to further develop Korea-UAE relations in areas such as culture."
Meanwhile, after the UAE schedule, Lee plans to visit Egypt, South Africa, and Türkiye in sequence. In Egypt, he will hold a summit with President Abdel Fattah el-Sissi. In South Africa, he will attend the G20 Leaders Summit on Finanical Markets and the World Economy on the 22nd-23rd. On the 24th, he will make a state visit to Türkiye.