RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and South Korea agreed to work closely on joint industrial projects including Vision 2030 that aims to make the Kingdom a pioneering global model of excellence.
To strengthen the bilateral ties South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Joo Hyung-Hwan was in the Kingdom and met several ministers and senior officials, Korean ambassador to Saudi Arabia Pyung-oh Kwon told Arab News on Wednesday.
He said the minister held discussions with Khaled Al-Faleh, minister of energy, industry and mineral resources; Majed Al-Qassabi, commerce and investment minister, and Adel Fakeih, minister of economy and planning, before winding up the trip today.
They reviewed bilateral relations in the industry and energy sector as well as partnership among the Saudi and Korean businessmen and companies.
“They agreed to further enhance multi-sectorial cooperation on various projects including joint industrial projects and the Korean minister assured of full cooperation on Vision 2030 and stressed readiness to enhance cooperation and active participation in achieving the Kingdom’s ambition,” said the envoy.
“Al-Faleh has directed to form various committees at the ministry to work with the Korean side in order to define the opportunities of cooperation between the two countries,” he added.
He also referred to the recent visit by the minister of economy and planning to South Korea during which he proposed around 50 joint cooperation projects on business-to-business and government-to-government basis.
They also agreed on a governance agency to monitor and facilitate cooperation, he added.
Joo and his accompanying delegation also visited the King Abdullah Petroleum Studies and Research Center (KAPSARC) here and met Center’s President Nadhmi Al-Nasr, senior managers and researchers.
During the visit, the minister was briefed on KAPSARC’s vision and development of research into energy economics, policy, technology and the environment across all types of energy. The two sides discussed the bilateral relationship between KAPSARC and Korean research centers, and the need to transfer the energy economics-related knowledge to the Kingdom.
KAPSARC currently works on a number of joint research and study projects with leading Korean institutes. These include a joint research program with the Korean Energy Economics Institute focusing on the security and future of clean energy involving several Saudi researchers.
The ambassador also said the Korean government is keen to resume GCC-South Korea dialogue, which was started at the end of 2008, it was discussed during the visit.
The six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) and South Korea signed an MoU in 2014 to hold regular “strategic dialogue” giving new dimension to GCC-Korean relations.
Korea to cooperate on Vision 2030, bolster industrial ties with Saudi Arabia
Korea to cooperate on Vision 2030, bolster industrial ties with Saudi Arabia
Kingdom key player in regional peace, EU official says
- Hana Jalloul Muro highlights Riyadh’s role in regional stability, economic growth and advancing EU-Saudi strategic ties
Riyadh: Hana Jalloul Muro, vice-chair of the European Parliament’s Foreign Affairs Committee, has praised Saudi Arabia’s role as a “reliable partner” to the EU.
Describing the Kingdom as a “key international actor,” she highlighted its pivotal role in regional stability, including brokering peace talks on Ukraine, promoting peace in Palestine, and supporting stable governments in Lebanon and the Syrian Arab Republic.
“Saudi is a reliable partner because it is a country that has demonstrated that with Vision 2030, only in the last five, six years, it has changed impressively. It has a major women’s labor force, a very low youth unemployment rate and is growing very fast,” Muro told Arab News.
Speaking on the sidelines of the Future Minerals Forum in Riyadh, she added: “Saudi Arabia is becoming a key major player in the international arena now — for peace conversations on Ukraine, supporting the Syrian government, paying Syria’s external debt, stabilizing the government in Lebanon, promoting peace in Gaza, in Palestine and pushing for a ceasefire, too.
“So, I think it is a very key international actor, very important in the region for stability,” Muro added.
Explaining why she considers the Kingdom a reliable partner, Muro said: “It’s a country that knows how to see to the East and to the West.”
Muro also serves as the European Parliament’s rapporteur for Saudi Arabia, and is responsible for drafting reports on legislative and budgetary proposals and other key bilateral issues.
In mid-December 2025, the European Parliament endorsed a road map to elevate EU-Saudi relations into a full-fledged strategic partnership, which Saudi Ambassador to the EU Haifa Al-Jedea described as “an important milestone” in bilateral ties.
The report highlighted the possibility of Saudi-EU visa-free travel, reaffirming the EU’s commitment to advancing a safe, mutually beneficial visa-free arrangement with the five GCC countries to ensure equal treatment under the new EU visa strategy.
“One of the key hot topics is the visa waiver to Saudi Arabia, which I always support,” Muro said. “Saudi Arabia has, as you are aware, been in cascade for five years, and I think we need to work toward a visa waiver.”
The report also highlighted the economic significance of Saudi tourists to EU member states, particularly for the hospitality, retail and cultural sectors, while emphasizing that Saudi citizens do not pose a source of irregular migration pressure.
When asked about the status of the visa waiver, Muro said: “The approval, it is the recommendation to the commission to take into account its importance. We need to advance on that because we are in the framework of this strategic partnership agreement that covers many topics, so this is why the visa waiver is a central key issue.”
She added: “I think by now we recognize the international role of Saudi Arabia and how important it is to us as a neighbor — not only for security, counter-terrorism and energy, but for everything. We need to get closer to partners like the GCC, Saudi specifically.
“And I think that we need to take Saudi Arabia as a very big ally of ours,” Muro said.
During her time in Riyadh, Muro took part in a panel at the forum focused on the EU-KSA business and investment dialogue, and advancing the critical raw materials value chain.
On the sidelines, she met Saudi Vice Foreign Minister Waleed Elkhereiji to discuss ways to further strengthen Saudi-EU relations.
She also met Hala Al-Tuwaijri, chairwoman of the Saudi Human Rights Commission, saying: “I have to congratulate you and the government, your country, on doing a great job.”
