President Moon Attends Korea-Saudi Innovation Growth Forum... "Cooperation in Hydrogen and Future City Construction"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] As part of his tour of the Middle East, President Moon Jae-in, currently visiting Saudi Arabia, attended the 'Korea-Saudi Smart Innovation Growth Forum,' an event for Saudi businessmen, where he proposed expanding cooperation related to hydrogen and future cities.

On the 18th (local time), during his speech at the forum held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Riyadh, President Moon said, "If our two countries, which have long joined forces based on trust, unite and cooperate, we will create new opportunities amid challenges."

President Moon emphasized, "Although geographically distant, our two countries have grown closely together more than any other nations. Saudi Arabia is promoting 'Vision 2030,' and Korea is also a key partner in realizing Saudi’s vision."

President Moon highlighted three future cooperation areas: ▲hydrogen cooperation ▲smart city cooperation ▲healthcare and digital cooperation.

President Moon stated, "Saudi Arabia, rich in renewable energy such as solar and wind power, has great strengths in producing green hydrogen, while Korea leads in hydrogen utilization and distribution capabilities. By combining Saudi Arabia’s green and blue hydrogen production capacity with Korea’s hydrogen utilization and distribution capabilities, our two countries can jointly lead the hydrogen economy."

He also said, "Saudi Arabia is building 'NEOM,' a carbon-zero eco-friendly smart city on a site 44 times the size of Seoul. Korean companies are already participating in 'The Line,' the first project of NEOM, and through the Smart City Cooperation Center and housing cooperation programs, we aim to actively participate in Saudi Arabia’s new city development." He expressed expectations for second and third mega projects as well.

President Moon emphasized, "During the COVID-19 situation, our two countries confirmed the potential for healthcare cooperation through joint production of ventilators, diagnostic kits, and collaboration on COVID-19 vaccines and treatments. We hope that healthcare and digital industry cooperation will lead our two countries into future industries."

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Moon stated, "Taking this visit to Saudi Arabia as an opportunity, more than 10 economic cooperation memorandums of understanding (MOUs) will be signed between companies from both countries in fields such as hydrogen, healthcare, digital, and manufacturing. The governments of both countries will fully support corporate cooperation."

On this day, the two countries held a ceremony exchanging 13 MOUs, including a hydrogen and ammonia cooperation MOU between Korea Electric Power Corporation and Aramco. About 60 Korean participants attended the event, including Minister Moon Seung-wook of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Hyundai Motor Company President Gong Young-woon, SK Discovery Vice Chairman Choi Chang-won, Samsung C&T CEO Oh Se-cheol, S-Oil CEO Hussein Al-Qahtani, Bioneer CEO Park Han-oh, Korea Electric Power Corporation President Jung Seung-il, and Hydrogen Alliance Chairman Moon Jae-do.

On the Saudi side, about 60 key government officials and businesspeople attended, including Minister of Investment Khalid Al-Falih, Minister of Energy Abdulaziz, Minister of Commerce Al-Kassabi, Minister of Industry and Mineral Resources Al-Khorayef, Chairman of the Saudi Chamber of Commerce Azlan bin Abdulaziz Al-Azlan, Governor of the Public Investment Fund (PIF) and Aramco Chairman Yasir Osman Al-Rumayyan, and Chairman of the Shaker Group Abdullrah Abdulla Abunayyan.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.