President Lee Jae-myung on the 15th met with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Administrator of the Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority of the United Arab Emirates (UAE), at the Blue House and discussed bilateral cooperation issues including the defense industry and artificial intelligence (AI). Lee said, "It would be good to swiftly produce concrete and visible results."
Administrator Khaldoon, who is also the UAE's special envoy in charge of Korea, visited to discuss follow-up measures on cooperative projects agreed upon during Lee's state visit to the UAE in Nov. last year. He is a key figure who concurrently serves as chief executive officer (CEO) of Mubadala, one of the UAE's sovereign wealth funds that manages $330 billion (about 485 trillion won), and is regarded as a power broker in the UAE.
Earlier, Korea and the UAE agreed at a summit to pursue local production and joint exports to third countries, including the joint development of weapons systems in the defense and defense industry sectors. The Korean government also decided to participate in the "Stargate Project," a mega AI data center construction project underway in the UAE.
Welcoming Administrator Khaldoon to Korea, Lee praised Khaldoon's efforts in helping advance Korea-UAE relations across various fields since Korean corporations won the Barakah nuclear power plant project in the UAE in 2009.
He then asked Administrator Khaldoon, as the UAE's point person for Korea, to communicate closely with Kang Hoon-sik, the presidential chief of staff who is Korea's point person for the UAE, and to play an active and constructive role in advancing bilateral ties.
He emphasized that he hopes the boundless potential of bilateral cooperation will lead to practical and meaningful outcomes.
Lee said, "Korea and the UAE agreed to build a relationship that will walk together for the next 100 years, what we call 'baeknyeonhaero' in Korean," adding, "It would be good if President Mohammed pays a state visit to Korea soon to discuss more specifics. I believe he will make a state visit to Korea in the near future, and I hope we prepare well to produce tangible results then."
He continued, "From our perspective, the UAE is a very important ally, and the public still remembers the warm welcome we received at the national level when we visited," adding, "The people of the Republic of Korea have high expectations. Once again, welcome to the Administrator's visit."
Administrator Khaldoon reaffirmed that he would continue efforts to further develop bilateral relations.
He responded, "President Mohammed asked me in particular to convey his regards that he happily remembers welcoming the president to the UAE as a brother and friend," adding, "He also has high expectations for how the two countries' 'special strategic partnership' will develop."
He added, "The president also emphasized that it is important to deliver as many visible results as possible in the shortest time," and stressed, "I will work closely with Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, whom I think of like an elder brother, to deliver results."
He added, "I am also grateful that the president invited President Mohammed to visit Korea, which is also his second home," and said, "If the Korean side proposes a convenient date, I will do my best to arrange for him to come on that date. Then, I will work to achieve many results on that occasion."