Saudi Crown Prince receives South Korean President Moon Jae in Riyadh
South Korean President Moon Jae-in arrived in the Saudi capital, Riyadh, at the start of an official visit and as part of a Middle East tour that includes Egypt and the UAE, where he was received by Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman.
Moon Jae-in’s visit comes at the invitation of Prince Mohammed bin Salman bin Abdulaziz, Saudi Crown Prince, Deputy Prime Minister, and Minister of Defense, and this is the first time in seven years that a South Korean president has visited Saudi Arabia.
According to the South Korean “Yonhap” agency, Moon is expected to discuss with the Saudi crown prince ways to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation between the two countries, including health care, science, technology, and hydrogen.
He also plans to present the direction of future cooperation between South Korea and Saudi Arabia in a keynote speech at the Innovative Growth Forum, an economic event between businessmen from the two countries.
After that, the Korean President will visit the historic city of Diriyah, which is included in the UNESCO World Heritage List.
On his last stop, President Moon will travel to Egypt on January 20-21 at the invitation of President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, to discuss bilateral cooperation for sustainable growth and future-oriented bilateral cooperation between the two countries.
This is the second official visit of a Korean president to Egypt after 16 years.
Moon plans to hold a summit with President Sisi, and to participate in a business round table, to discuss ways of bilateral cooperation in future environmentally-friendly industries.
The Korean presidency expressed its hope that the upcoming visits to the UAE, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt will serve as an opportunity to consolidate the foundations of cooperation with the three main Middle Eastern countries.
