Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff accompanying President Lee Jae-myung on a state visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), said on the 18th, "In the defense industry, the two countries will establish a 'completed value chain cooperation model,'" adding, "Through this, we will increase the likelihood that our corporations win orders."
Deputy Minister Kang stated accordingly during a briefing at the press center set up in Abu Dhabi, outlining the summit between President Lee and President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and the results of Kang's own activities as a special envoy for strategic economic cooperation that took place beforehand.
Regarding the "completed value chain cooperation model," Deputy Minister Kang said, "It means moving beyond a simple export structure to actively pursue joint development and local production," adding, "The Korean side agreed to support the UAE's independent operation capability for Korea's defense equipment."
Based on strengthened bilateral collaboration, the two sides will push for joint defense exports to third countries while at the same time increasing the chances that Korean corporations will be selected as a "partner" for the UAE's defense export projects. It is known that during the summit, the UAE also requested deepening defense cooperation.
Ha Jung-woo, the senior presidential secretary for AI future planning, announced the results of discussions in the artificial intelligence (AI) field. Ha said, "Korea has decided to participate in the 'Stargate Project' being pursued by the UAE. Through this, the two countries agreed to build AI and energy infrastructure together."
The UAE Stargate Project aims to build an AI data center cluster in Abu Dhabi with a capacity of up to 5 gigawatts (GW), and plans to operate the first 200-megawatt (MW) AI cluster next year. The initial investment is estimated at 30 trillion won ($20 billion).
In addition, the two countries agreed to pool efforts for the construction of large-scale AI data centers and to strengthen cooperation on "physical AI," and to establish sectoral working groups within the year to handle detailed discussions.
In addition, the UAE side requested that the scale of the "crude oil stockpiling project," which Korea and the UAE's national oil companies are currently pursuing as a cooperative project, be increased from the current 4 million barrels to 10 million barrels, and further expanded two to three times in the future.
Details of discussions on cultural industry cooperation were also introduced. Deputy Minister Kang said, "The two countries agreed to create a 'K-City' in the UAE and to make the discussions concrete," adding, "K-City will serve as a platform for promoting cooperative projects in advanced industries and the cultural industry." He said, "The economic performance of K-culture generated based on K-City is difficult to quantify," adding, "There is also an outlook that the market value will exceed $70 billion in 2030."
Deputy Minister Kang reiterated, "The expected outcomes across defense, AI and K-culture amount to 150 trillion won in Korean currency," adding, "This summit will be the start of a practical economic alliance, not a mere display of friendship."