Korea-UAE Hold AI Infrastructure and Semiconductor Investment Forum: "AI Ecosystem Cooperation"

Visit of UAE Ministry of Investment and State-Owned AI Companies to Korea

South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are materializing cooperation in the artificial intelligence (AI) ecosystem between the two countries, focusing on AI infrastructure, models, and services.

The Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the National AI Strategy Committee announced on May 13 that they held the "Korea-UAE AI Infrastructure & Semiconductor Investment Forum" at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas.

Following the state visit to the UAE in November last year, the two countries formed a working group involving both government agencies and private companies. This forum was organized to achieve tangible results from those cooperative efforts.

For the investment forum, the UAE delegation included Mohamed AlHawii, Vice Minister of Investment, as well as key representatives from UAE state-owned AI companies such as Core42 and MGX, government R&D institutions including ATRC and TII, investment organizations such as Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority, among others—a total of 25 key figures visited Korea. Abdullah Saif Al Nuaimi, the UAE Ambassador to Korea, was also in attendance.

During high-level talks, vice ministers from both countries agreed on the necessity of establishing a strategic partnership for the development of the AI ecosystem, especially amid rapidly evolving global competition in the field of artificial intelligence. The subsequent high-level panel discussion explored cooperation in areas such as building and operating low-power, high-efficiency AI infrastructure linked to AI semiconductors like neural processing units (NPUs), as well as developing specialized services based on each country's native language AI models.

There were also discussions on specific investment cooperation measures through business presentations by domestic AI companies, business matching sessions, and networking programs.

Jaemyung Ryu, Vice Minister of Science and ICT, said, "We need to concretize collaborative models that combine Korea's AI ecosystem competitiveness with the UAE's AI investment capabilities and global market connectivity, leading to tangible outcomes such as demonstration projects for low-power, high-efficiency AI data centers and participation in the UAE Stargate AI Data Center Campus Project. We will continue to support both countries' companies so that their market entry opportunities can be expanded."

Mohamed AlHawii, Vice Minister of Investment of the UAE, emphasized, "The UAE's $30 billion investment cooperation announced for Korea in 2023 has provided strong momentum for bilateral cooperation. This visit will serve as an important opportunity to expand collaboration between the two countries across the entire AI value chain."