16/10/2010
South Korean H1 investment in Kingdom reaches $1.4bn
Economic cooperation between Saudi Arabia and South Korea in trade and investment continue to expand. “Korea’s investment in Saudi Arabia has reached $1.4 billion in the first half of 2010,” South Korean Consul General Han Dal-jun said over the weekend.
“The bilateral business ties are close and strong, with 119 of Korean companies involved in ventures across the Kingdom,” he said while speaking at his country’s National Day reception he hosted at the InterContinental Hotel.
The companies are engaged in the execution of technology-intensive and value-added projects including petrochemical plants, desalination, power generation and IT. “Saudi Arabia remains Korea’s largest oil supplier, making up one-third of its total oil imports. It imported 265 million barrels of oil from the Kingdom in 2009,” he added.
“Korea is the third largest trading partner of Saudi Arabia, while the Kingdom ranks as the fourth largest trading partner of Korea, with bilateral trade totaling $39 billion in 2008,” he said, adding that Korean construction and engineering companies have been successfully participating in the Kingdom’s economic development and construction of major industrial and infrastructural projects since the 1970s.
The participation of Saudi Arabia as the Middle East’s biggest economy and the only OPEC member in the G20 summit scheduled in Seoul on Nov. 11-12 will be “very important,” Dal-jun said. “In fact, the Kingdom is a key strategic partner both globally and bilaterally in coordinating policies toward improving the economy,” the envoy added.
The 20 member-countries of the group will discuss the state of the global economy and take steps to reduce market volatility and help march toward a sustainable growth. “Participants have welcomed the Korean initiative of hosting the summit, which is expected to find long-term solutions to pressing global economic issues,” the consul general said.
In the field of education, both countries have taken a big leap forward. Several hundred Saudi students have been studying in Korean universities under the King Abdullah Scholarship Program. A number of South Korean students are also studying at the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology and other universities across the Kingdom.
As part of the cultural exchange initiative, a Saudi youth delegation will tour Korea in November in response to the visit of a Korean youth delegation to the Kingdom in October.
“This annual youth exchange program comes within the framework of a cultural protocol endorsed by the two countries in 1974, which has led Korea and the Kingdom to step up efforts to promote understanding, friendship and cultural relations,” Dal-jun added.
Saleh Abdul Latif of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Makkah Region, was the chief guest at the event that celebrated the 4,342nd anniversary of the foundation of Korea. A number of diplomats, businessmen and members of the community were among the invitees.
