UAE President meets with business heavyweights in South Korea ahead of visit to Beijing
Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed talked to the country’s top executives about fields ranging from construction and shipbuilding to green energy
UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed arrives in Seoul for a state visit. (Photo: WAM)
Landing in Seoul on Tuesday for a two-day state visit to South Korea, UAE President Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed swiftly set the strengthening of ties with Asia’s business elite at the top of his agenda.
He travels to Beijing on Wednesday amid ongoing negotiations within the Gulf Cooperation Council on a proposed free trade agreement with China.
Ahead of ceremonies and strategic talks with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol, the Emirati leader met with leaders of the country’s biggest conglomerates to discuss expanding trade in fields ranging from construction and shipbuilding to green energy, the Korea Herald reports.
Among those at the meeting were Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Chung Euisun and GS Group Chairman Huh Tae-soo.
Sheikh Mohamed brought his own corporate heavyweights on the swing through Asia, including Dr. Sultan Al Jaber, the Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology who is Group CEO of the national oil company ADNOC and President of COP28, which led the U.N. climate summit in Dubai.
Khaldoon Al Mubarak, Chairman of the UAE Executive Affairs Authority and Group CEO of the Mubadala sovereign wealth fund, is also traveling in the presidential delegation.
Other key UAE cabinet members on the trip are Minister of Energy and Infrastructure Suhail Al Mazrouei, Minister of Investment Mohamed Alsuwaidi and Minister of State for Foreign Trade Dr. Thani Al Zeyoudi.
The four units of the UAE’s new $20 billion Barakah power plant in Abu Dhabi were built by Korea Electric Power Corp. and a consortium of Korean companies.