문재인 대통령(오른쪽)이 27일 청와대에서 모하메드 빈 자이드 알-나흐얀 아부다비 왕세제와 정상회담에 앞서 악수하고 있다.

President Moon Jae-in (right) and Abu Dhabi’s Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Feb. 27 shake hands before starting their bilateral summit at Cheong Wa Dae.

By Park Gil-ja and Yoon Jihye
Photos = Cheong Wa Dae

President Moon Jae-in and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Feb. 27 agreed in their summit to strengthen bilateral cooperation in high-tech industries to develop a so-called special strategic partnership between both sides.

The night before at Cheong Wa Dae, Al Nahyan had attended a dinner hosted by President Moon on the first day of the crown prince’s two-day visit to Korea. The United Arab Emirates (UAE) is Korea’s top export market in the Middle East and biggest partner in human resource exchanges in the region.

In a joint statement issued on Feb. 27, both leaders said more active high-level consultation channels, the Barakah nuclear power plant project and defense cooperation had bolstered bilateral relations. They also agreed to facilitate more people-to-people exchanges through the UAE Ambassador Program and youth exchanges, as well as seek mutual growth befitting the age of the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Al Nahyan lauded the progress in inter-Korean relations and said the UAE, as Seoul’s ally, consistently supports the establishment of permanent peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The crown prince’s visit, his fifth to Korea, reciprocated that by President Moon to the UAE in March last year.

문재인 대통령(뒷줄 오른쪽)과 모하메드 빈 자이드 알-나흐얀 UAE 왕세제(뒷줄 왼쪽)가 27일 청와대에서 강경화 외교부 장관(오른쪽)과 안와르 가르가쉬 외교담당 특임장관이 특별전략 대화에 관한 양해각서에 서명하는 모습을 지켜보고 있다.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha (right) and UAE Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Anwar Gargash on Feb. 27 sign a memorandum of understanding on “special strategic dialogue” at Cheong Wa Dae with President Moon Jae-in (right, standing) and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan attending.

krun@korea.kr