President Yoon Suk Yeol from Oct. 21-26 made state visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar as the first Korean leader to do so in either Arab country. On Oct. 22 in Riyadh, he attended summit talks with Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman. The same day, the governments of both countries signed 46 contracts and memorandums of understanding in clean energy, electric vehicles and other sectors at the Korea-Saudi Investment Forum. Moving to Doha, Qatar, on Oct. 24, President Yoon held summit talks with Qatar’s Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani to discuss bilateral cooperation. This photo essay looks back on the president’s trips to both countries.
By Israa Mohamed
President Yoon Suk Yeol and first lady Kim Keon Hee on Oct. 21 walk with Saudi government officials after disembarking from the Korean presidential plane Code One at King Khalid International Airport in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The plane flew under the escort of two Saudi F-15 fighter jets after entering the Arab country’s airspace. (Kang Min Seok from Office of the President)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 23 delivers a lecture at the special session “Dialogue with Saudi Arabia’s Future Generation” for 2,000 students at King Saud University, the Arab country’s first institution of higher learning. “The special partnership between Korea and Saudi Arabia in the 1970s served as a steppingstone for Korea’s economic development dubbed the ‘miracle of the Hangang River,'” he said. “Youth, the future generation, are the driving force behind creating and implementing change and innovation.” (Kim Yong Wii from Office of the President)
President Yoon Suk Yeol (second from left) on Oct. 23 looks at booths before attending the Korea-Saudi Arabia Partnership Forum on Key Technologies of the Future at King Abdulaziz City for Science and Technology in Riyadh. “Based on our future technology partnership, let Korea and Saudi Arabia form solidarity and open together the future of both countries and the world,” he said at the forum. (Jeon Han)
President Yoon Suk Yeol (left, front row) on Oct. 23 in Riyadh looks around an exhibition booth for the Neom smart city project with Saudi Minister of Investment Khalid A. Al-Falih at a ceremony marking the 50th anniversary of bilateral cooperation in construction. “If Korea’s cutting-edge city construction capacity is combined with Saudi Arabia’s development of the smart city project Neom, both countries can jointly present a model for a vision of a future city,” the president said at the event. (Kang Min Seok from Office of the President)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 23 speaks at a dinner with a Korean business delegation accompanying him on his state visit to Saudi Arabia at Riyadh Marriott Hotel. “During this trip to Saudi Arabia, our Team Korea signed memorandums of understanding and contracts on export orders worth USD 15.6 billion,” he said in a speech. “I will run and run again to help our companies with exports and orders.” (Kang Min Seok from Office of the President)
President Yoon Suk Yeol (center) on Oct. 23 poses for photos after being received by Saudi Minister of Defense Khalid bin Salman Al Saud (right) and Minister of the National Guard Abdullah bin Bandar Al Saud. The defense minister said Saudi Arabia hopes to cooperate with Korea in the next-generation defense industry. President Yoon responded by urging both countries to expand and deepen cooperation in the defense sector like military training, joint drills, visits to units and personnel exchange. (Kim Yong Wii from Office of the President)
Saudi Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman (right) on Oct. 24 moves to the venue of the forum Future Investment Initiative with President Yoon Suk Yeol as a passenger after making a surprise visit to the official VIP accommodations in Riyadh for a 23-minute exclusive talks where the president was staying. Presidential spokesperson Lee Do Woon quoted the crown prince as telling the president that he hopes to ride a Hyundai Motor electric vehicle produced at the Korean company’s plant in the Arab country with President Yoon during the latter’s next trip to Saudi Arabia. (Shin Yugyeong from Office of the President)
President Yoon Suk Yeol (right) on Oct. 24 waters date seedlings received as a gift from Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani at the opening ceremony of the Korean Pavilion at this year’s International Horticultural Expo at Al Bidda Park in Doha, Qatar. (Kang Min Seok from Office of the President)
President Yoon Suk Yeol on Oct. 25 listens to a participant in a dialogue with Qatar’s youth leaders at Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Education City near Doha. “Korea and Qatar must cooperate in many things spanning a variety of sectors,” he said. “Bilateral cooperation using state-of-the-art science and technology will prove extremely dynamic in the future like innovation in national defense by mobilizing science and technology, remote medical treatment based on digital and AI technologies, and hydroponics through smart farming.” (Yonhap News)
ess8@korea.kr
