Saudi-Korean Business Forum culminates in agreements across strategic sectors

• 13 agreements were inked at the meeting, marking the continued expansion and deepening of Saudi-Korean relations in such areas of strategic interest as clean energy and manufacturing, smart infrastructure and digitalization, capacity building, SMEs, healthcare and life sciences
• The forum was inaugurated by the Honorable Moon Jae In, President of the Republic of Korea, as part of his official visit to the Kingdom

Riyadh, Saudi Arabia: The Saudi-Korean Business Forum culminated today in 13 investment agreements in such areas of strategic interest as clean energy and manufacturing, smart infrastructure and digitalization, capacity building, SMEs, healthcare and life sciences.

Organized by the Ministry of Investment of Saudi Arabia (MISA), the forum was attended on the government side by Mr. Moon Sung Wook, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea; Mr. Chung Eui Yong, Minister of Foreign Affairs; and high-ranking officials from the Ministry of Education and the Ministry of Health and Welfare.

Inaugurated by the Honorable Moon Jae In, President of the Republic of Korea, as part of his official visit to the Kingdom, the forum culminated in several busines-to-business, government-to-business and government-to-government agreements, further solidifying cooperation across strategic sectors.

Among the agreements were:

• The Ministry of Investment signed an agreement with Samsung C&T to help it develop and localize industries related to construction technologies and green products and around investing in building and financing infrastructure projects.
• Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed an MoU with Korean firms POSCO and Samsung C&T to study and develop a green hydrogen production project in KSA for export purposes, while MISA signed a joint cooperation with Samsung C&T in the field of green hydrogen for pre-cast concrete blocks and infrastructure.
• Saudi Aramco signed an MoU with Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) for a pre-feasibility study on blue ammonia and blue hydrogen for investment, production, logistics and sales, an agreement with POSCO regarding investment in blue ammonia and blue hydrogen and a basic terms agreement with Export-Import Bank of Korea for framework agreements that include a credit limit of up to $6 billion. Saudi Aramco also signed a series of agreements with S-Oil around areas including research and development, blue hydrogen and technology development.
• The Saudi Arabian Industrial Investments Company (Dussur), Saudi Aramco and Doosan Heavy Industries and Construction signed an agreement to establish a high-efficiency factory in iron molding and forging in Ras Al-Khair, with a production capacity of 83,000 tons annually. The deal is expected to attract foreign investment, transfer quality technology to Saudi Arabia and localize supply chains for strategic sectors in the equipment industry for the oil and gas, water, energy and marine industries.
• ROSHN and Samsung C&T agreed to establish a non-exclusive framework to jointly explore opportunities in housing development and pre-cast concrete blocks.
• The Korean Intellectual Property Office and the Saudi Authority for Intellectual Property (SAIP) signed advanced partnership arrangements for bilateral cooperation, including the secondment of Korean experts to SAIP
• The Ministry of National Guard signed a letter of intent agreement with EzCaretech to jointly provide and implement Dr. Answer – an artificial intelligence-based medical solutions tool – within targeted hospitals.
• Kumho Tire and Al-Sahm Al-Usud for Tires signed a technical partnership agreement to establish a factory for tire production. The factory’s production capacity will reach 15 million tires annually, and production is expected to start in the third quarter of 2023.

Coinciding with the business forum was the fourth ministerial meeting of the Saudi-Korean Vision 2030 Committee, formed to deepen and widen policy and economic ties between the two countries. Co-chaired by H.E. Khalid Al Falih and Mr. Moon, the committee was created in 2017 to harness complementary resources to generate economic benefits and business opportunities in line with Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 and Korea’s Five-Year (2017-2022) Plan for the Administration of State Affairs.

The Kingdom of Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea have a long history of partnership, beginning with the establishment of diplomatic relationships 60 years ago. This relationship has benefitted both countries economically, with bilateral trade increasing from $3.9 billion in 1980 to $25.5 billion in 2019.

© Press Release 2022