South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to collectively pursue nuclear power exports to 3rd nations, whereas Seoul can be poised to participate within the UAE’s formidable sovereign AI initiative, spearheaded by OpenAI.
Throughout South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s state go to to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, the 2 nations issued a joint declaration to deepen cooperation throughout key strategic areas, together with nationwide protection, Korean popular culture, medical providers and biotechnology.
“Constructing on the success of the Barakah Nuclear Vitality Plant, each nations will collectively pursue third-country nuclear initiatives,” the joint declaration said. “Cooperation will embody gas provide, upkeep, AI-based effectivity optimization and workforce growth.”
In 2009, South Korea constructed 4 APR-1400 nuclear reactors in Barakah close to Abu Dhabi in cooperation with the Emirates Nuclear Vitality Company (ENEC), marking South Korea’s first nuclear energy plant export.
PARTICIPATION IN STARGATE UAE PROJECT
In line with their joint settlement, South Korea will take part within the Stargate UAE mission, the primary worldwide deployment of OpenAI’s AI infrastructure platform Stargate.
“South Korean firms are anticipated to participate as precedence companions within the mission, whose preliminary part alone includes $20 billion in funding,” Ha Jung-woo, South Korea’s Presidential Secretary for Future AI Technique, mentioned throughout a media briefing following the summit between the 2 nations.
The Stargate mission is aimed to construct an enormous cluster of AI information facilities throughout the UAE, in coordiation with the US authorities. It includes G42, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco and SoftBank, in accordance with OpenAI.
South Korean companies could possibly be thought-about for key roles, together with the event of superior energy infrastructure to help the initiative.
NATIONAL DEFENSE
The agreements on nuclear power exports and AI cooperation have been amongst seven memoranda of understanding signed through the summit.
South Korean Chief Presidential Secretary Kang Hoon-sik mentioned that the agreements additionally paves the best way for South Korean firms to take part in constructing out the UAE’s broader protection infrastructure.
“The 2 nations will work collectively to ascertain the next stage of collaboration even past gross sales of weapons, together with joint growth, know-how cooperation and native manufacturing,” he famous through the briefing.
“This may enhance the chance of South Korean protection companies successful contracts in protection export initiatives.”
South Korea is known to be in ongoing discussions with the UAE over the export of K9 self-propelled howitzers and the Cheongung-II surface-to-air missile system.
The presidential workplace estimates the protection export market within the UAE at over $15 billion.
Okay-CULTURE, SPACE
The 2 nations have additionally agreed to harness the rising reputation of Korean tradition throughout the Center East, whereas working to place the UAE as a regional hub for tradition and tourism.
“The UAE has additionally expressed robust curiosity in South Korea’s proposal to ascertain a brand new sort of built-in cluster, tentatively named ‘UAE Okay-Metropolis,’ which might embody superior industries, know-how, healthcare, aerospace and protection, all constructed on an AI basis,” Kang mentioned.
Seoul estimates the potential Okay-culture market within the Center East at $70.4 billion.
The 2 nations even have been deepening collaboration within the area business with joint satellite tv for pc growth packages.
Their joint declaration highlights the Etihad-SAT Radar Satellite tv for pc within the UAE, developed in partnership with Korea’s area know-how firm Satrec Initiative in 2025, as the most recent milestone of their bilateral collaboration within the area sector.
The satellite tv for pc follows DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2 launched into orbit in 2018, the primary satellites designed by the UAE. They concerned know-how switch by Satrec Initiative.
