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Abu Dhabi Forum hosted by Abu Dhabi Department of Economic Development (DED) opened at Grand InterContinental Hotel in downtown Seoul today.
The two-day forum is participated by 30 plus senior officials from Abu Dhabi government entities and companies led by Nasser Ahmed Al Suwaidi, DED’s Chairman.
South Korean Vice Minister of Knowledge Economy Kim Jung-gwan made a congratulatory message on behalf of the Korean government during the opening session of the two-day forum which came in the backdrop of the growing bilateral relations between the UAE and South Koreas notably in the last two years.
Kim said that friendly ties between Korea and UAE would be further enhanced in the years to come by the strategic vision of both countries on mutual trust solidified during the past 30 years since the two established their formal relations. Two countries marked 30-year relationship anniversary last year.
In its report entitled "Abu Dhabi and Korea: Strategic Relations and Joint Vision", which is launched to celebrate the Forum, DED brings into centre stage the projects, agreements and investments made between e UAE in particular Abu Dhabi, and South Korea from 2009 until the first quarter of this year.
According to the report, UAE is the second largest oil provider for South Korea and the second largest market to Korean exports in the Middle East. Furthermore, South Korea is one of largest key investors in commodities and services in the UAE, mainly in IT, automotives, contracting, energy, as well as other sectors.
A big share of Korean companies is clustered in Abu Dhabi and Dubai, while many small and medium enterprises target the GCC markets from their headquarters in the UAE. Estimates indicate that the total Korean investments in the UAE were $ 515 million by end of 2009.
The UAE Foreign Trade Ministry statistics for 2010 shows that Abu Dhabi’s imports from South Korea increased by AED 3 billion while exports went down by AED 126.200 million. In general, the trade exchange between the UAE and South Korea in 2010 maintained high figures, totaling AED 3.431.300 billion compared to AED 4.669.500 billion in 2009.
The DED’s Report sheds lights on the most notable partnerships concluded by the UAE and South Korea in the last two years. Last year, the UAE and South Korea singed a MoU, allowing Korea, which is the fifth largest importer of raw oil in the world, a one million barrel share of raw oil reserves in the UAE through unprecedented agreement with ADNOC.
Relations between the UAE and South Korea further strengthened in December last year when the UAE awarded a South Korea consortium a $20.4 billion contract to build four nuclear plants. In February 2009, the South Korean Engineering and Construction Company, Daewoo, won a $650.5 contract to build a power plant in the UAE.
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