President Yoon Seok-yeol and Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, who are on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, are attending the Korea-Saudi Arabia agreement and MOU signing and exchange ceremony held at Yamaguchi Palace in Riyadh on the 22nd (local time). Joint reporting photo
While President Yoon Seok-yeol is on a state visit to Saudi Arabia, the President’s Office announced that discussions on large-scale defense industry cooperation between Korea and Saudi Arabia have reached the final stage. Kim Tae-hyo, First Deputy Director of the National Security Office, said at a local briefing right after President Yoon and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman concluded the Korea-Saudi summit at Yamaguchi Palace in Riyadh on the 22nd (local time), “We are talking about various areas such as air defense systems and fire weapons. “Discussions on large-scale defense industry cooperation are in the final stages,” he said. “We are discussing a long-term and systematic defense industry cooperation program, not a one-time cooperation.” The President’s Office cited the achievements of the visit to Saudi Arabia not only as attracting $15.6 billion (approximately KRW 21 trillion) through the signing of memorandums of understanding and contracts in the energy, power, and infrastructure fields, but also the expansion of cooperation between the two countries to the defense industry. Deputy Director Kim said, “We want to cooperate so that weapons systems using our excellent defense technology can help strengthen Saudi Arabia’s defense capabilities,” adding, “It will be a powerful driving force to expand defense industry export performance.” He also added, “We will use this trip to the Middle East as a catalyst to expand the scope of our defense export market.” Previously, Crown Prince Muhammad was known to have shown interest in the medium-range surface-to-air missile ‘Cheongung-II’ during his visit to Korea in November last year. Saudi Arabia, which has been under attack by armed drones from Yemen’s Houthi rebels, is in need of a missile interception system. However, a high-ranking official in the Presidential Office said, “It is in the consummation stage and the scale and amount are quite large,” but said that, considering the sensitive security situation of Saudi Arabia and neighboring countries, the exact size of the weapons system and contract being discussed could not be revealed. Deputy Director Kim also said, “President Yoon exchanged opinions with Crown Prince bin Salman on the dynamics of international politics and economics surrounding the Israeli-Palestinian armed conflict,” and that the two leaders agreed that “the worsening humanitarian situation must be prevented.” . A senior official in the Presidential Office described the atmosphere of the Korea-Saudi Arabia meeting, saying, “(Crown Prince Muhammad) did not seem to be unilaterally siding with a particular side during the current conflict.” In a phone call with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on the 10th, Crown Prince Mohammed said, “We will continue to stand by the Palestinian people.” The ‘joint statement’ to be announced by Korea and Saudi Arabia will include their will to cooperate on political issues on the Korean Peninsula, such as the Israel-Palestine war, the Ukraine crisis, and North Korea’s nuclear and missile issues. Meanwhile, President Yoon met with Saudi youth, scientists and engineers, and business leaders on the 23rd and repeatedly emphasized future cooperation between the two countries. In a lecture at King Saud University, Crown Prince Mohammed’s alma mater, President Yoon said, “Korea and Saudi Arabia must be reborn as ‘first movers’ who pioneer and lead new fields,” and added, “Future friendly cooperation between Korea and Saudi Arabia depends on you, the future generation. “It exists,” he said. He then discussed ways to strengthen science and technology partnerships in four major fields, including digital, clean energy, biohealth, and space, at the Korea-Saudi Future Technology Partnership Forum. Also, at the ceremony commemorating the 50th anniversary of Korea-Saudi construction cooperation, he was present to sign two contracts and two memorandums of understanding between Saudi Arabia and Korean companies such as Hyundai Engineering, KT, and Samsung C&T. With President Yoon’s visit to Saudi Arabia, a total of 15.6 billion dollars worth of contracts and 51 memorandums of understanding will be signed. Riyadh/Reporter Bae Ji-hyeon [email protected]
2023-10-23 14:41:39
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