RIYADH: Saudi Arabia and South Korea have announced the establishment of a ministerial level committee to boost cooperation, enhance business networking and ensure sustainable support for the Kingdom’s Vision 2030 economic reforms.
The Saudi-Korea Vision 2030 Committee “focuses on supporting business ventures between the two countries,” Youngjae Kim, diplomat and negotiator at Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Saudi Arabia, told Arab News on Tuesday.
He explained that the committee comprises five key sector sub-groups headed by senior government representatives from both countries: energy and manufacturing, smart infrastructure and digitization, capacity building, health care and life sciences, and SMEs and investments.
There is also a separate sub-group that will monitor and facilitate cooperative efforts, he added.
Kim said the two countries have already agreed on 40 projects across the five key sectors, including joint investments in shipbuilding; desalination and solar power plants; nuclear power plants; automobile production; an e-government cooperation center; robotics; smart city traffic control systems; intelligent CCTV and social safety infrastructure; new economic city development; a Saudi national health insurance system; financial assistance for SME joint ventures; business matchmaking of SMEs; and the construction and operation of theme parks.
At the 18th South Korean and Saudi Arabia Joint Committee Meeting (JCM) in Seoul on Friday, Saudi Minister of Economy and Planning, Adel Fakeih, expressed his confidence that the Saudi-Korea Vision 2030 Committee would lay a solid foundation for the two countries to foster a strategic and long-term partnership.
“Foreign Minister Kang noted that Korea, with its technical expertise and experience of economic industrialization, would be the optimal partner for Saudi Arabia as it promotes economic diversification and reform under Vision 2030,” said Korean Embassy spokesman Kim.
Concurrent with the JCM, the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) and the Council of Saudi Chambers (CSC), co-hosted the Vision 2030 Business Forum, which Fakeih also attended, and where he said that “vibrant B2B cooperation” was the key pillar of a bilateral economic partnership.
Over 400 Saudi and Korean business leaders and delegates attended, including South Korea’s Ambassador to Saudi Arabia, Kwon Pyung-oh, who stressed the need to link the innovative strengths of Korean companies with the enthusiasm, needs and boundless potential of Saudi Arabia in order to produce win-win results for both parties.
Saudi-Korea Vision 2030 Committee launched with access to 400 companies
Saudi-Korea Vision 2030 Committee launched with access to 400 companies
Jeddah students get closer look at electric motorsport
- A PIF-linked initiative highlights technical and engineering careers behind electric racing events
JEDDAH: Students from local and international schools in Jeddah were introduced to STEM-related career pathways in electric motorsport this week, as part of an education program linked to the UIM E1 World Championship held on the Red Sea.
The sessions formed part of Driving Force Presented by the Public Investment Fund, an initiative run by Formula E and its electric racing series partners, to familiarize students aged eight to 18 with science, technology, engineering and mathematics through electric racing and sustainability-focused industries.
The programme took place alongside the 2026 E1 Jeddah GP and included workshops, school visits and trackside access designed to show how engineering, data, broadcast technology and event operations function within professional motorsport.
According to organisers, the initiative reached more than 60,000 students globally in 2025, with further expansion planned this year.
HIGHLIGHTS
• The program took place alongside the 2026 E1 Jeddah GP and included workshops, school visits and trackside access.
• Students learned about E1 races and their technical and environmental dimensions and discussed the engineering and marine aspects of electric boats.
• According to organisers, the initiative reached more than 60,000 students globally in 2025, with further expansion planned this year.
John Williams, managing director at E1, told Arab News: “The PIF is absolutely vital to everything we do here at the E1. They were crucial initial investment partner since the start of the championship and they continue to support us in a number of ways and more specifically around the Driving Force program.”
Elaborating more on the program, he said: “What we are doing is presenting and showing these students the available careers of science, technology, engineering and mathematics, as well as careers in sports, not only pilots but also engineers and mechanics.”
Williams added that the main key to the program was bringing a new generation to the mechanism of sport.
“We are introducing to these exciting new technologies around the race but it could be our technology on the boat or our broadcast products, as well as how to manage the event its self. There are a range of opportunities to show it to the children in addition to enjoying the excitement of the race and meeting the pilots.”
The program’s Jeddah activities began at King Abdulaziz University’s faculty of maritime studies, where students took part in a hands-on workshop focused on STEM careers in the motorsport and sustainability areas conducted by technology experts and famous water pilots such as Dani Clos, Emma Kimilainen and Patricia Pita.
Students learned about E1 races and their technical and environmental dimensions and discussed the engineering and marine aspects of electric boats.
They also enjoyed exclusive behind-the-scenes access at the E1 Jeddah GP, pilot meet-and-greets, and front-row seats to watch the RaceBird boats in action.
