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| President Park Geun-hye, second from right, claps hands with Park Yong-maan, right, chairman of Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, and other participants during the Korea-Saudi Arabia Business Forum at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh, Wednesday. / Yonhap |
Two nations agree to boost cooperation in ICT, energy and healthcare
By Lee Hyo-sik
Korea organized its largest-ever business forum in Saudi Arabia Wednesday, attracting 400 CEOs and government officials from both countries.
Korean and Saudi business leaders met and discussed ways to boost cooperation in the construction, information technology, energy and healthcare sectors.
President Park Geun-hye also attended the gathering, stressing the importance of furthering business partnerships between the two nations.
In cooperation with the Council of Saudi Chambers, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) held the "Korea-Saudi Business Forum" at the Four Seasons Hotel in Riyadh Wednesday.
The KCCI will hold two more forums in Abu Dhabi on Thursday and in Doha on Sunday.
Some of the high-profile Korean CEOs attending Wednesday's meeting included KCCI Chairman Park Yong-maan, who is also Doosan Group chairman, POSCO Chairman Kwon Oh-joon and Hyundai Group Chairwoman Hyun Jeong-eun.
In addition, dozens of CEOs of companies affiliated with Samsung Group, Hyundai Motor Group, LG Group and other conglomerates were present.
Foreign Minister Yoon Byung-se and other ministers also attended the gathering.
In an opening speech, KCCI Chairman Park said Korea is an ideal economic partner for Saudi Arabia. "Korean construction firms played a crucial role in Saudi's infrastructure development and earned hard currency in the 1970s. This helped make the ‘Miracle on the Han River' possible. We Koreans are always grateful for Saudi's warm friendship and hospitality."
Park said Korea and Saudi can complement each other, stressing that the two are perfect partners. Korea has strong manufacturing industries, but has to spend tens of billions of dollars each year to import crude oil. Saudi Arabia is the world's largest oil exporter, but lacks in manufacturing base.
"Saudi Arabia has been pushing to diversify its industrial structure and nurture manufacturing industries," the chairman said. "Korean companies can share their development knowhow and advanced technological expertise with their Saudi counterparts. Korea can play a significant role in Saudi Arabia."
He said President Park's visit to the Middle Eastern nation will help build a future-oriented, constructive partnership between the two.
In response, Abdul Rahman Al-Jamil, chairman of the Council of Saudi Chambers, said the two nations should foster cooperation in information technology, healthcare, energy and other sectors. "Korea and Saudi Arabia have been working together mainly in the construction industry. The partnership should expand to other areas."
The chairman said the Saudi government has been building a manufacturing complex to nurture the automobile, steel and electronics industries. "We are also investing heavily in the fields of healthcare and information technology. Both Korea and Saudi Arabia must work together in various industries and do business together."
Companies sign business deals in Saudi Arabia
Hyosung Goodsprings signed an agreement with Saudi Services for Electro-Mechanic Works Wednesday to supply high-voltage transformers, generators, pumps and other parts used in power plants worth $545 million.
The Hyosung Group affiliate, specializing in the manufacture of pumps and other parts used in petrochemical plants and nuclear power plants, is expected to sign more supply contracts if Korea wins orders from Saudi to construct nuclear power plants.
On Tuesday, Korea signed a contract to build two 100,000-kilowatt nuclear reactors in Saudi Arabia, which plans to build a total of 18 nuclear reactors by 2040.
The Korea Electric Power Corp. also struck a deal with its Saudi counterpart, Saudi Electricity Company, to boost cooperation in the fields of nuclear power and electricity generation.
The two agreed to work together in the areas of power generation, renewable energy, power transmission, research and development and human resources training.
Korea Export-Import Bank also signed an agreement with the Saudi Electricity Company to extend $3 billion in financing to Korean companies involved in the latter's power plant construction projects.
SK Telecom signed a tentative agreement with Saudi Telecom to build the Creative Economy Innovation Center in Riyadh.
