ع
The Ministry of Science and ICT reported that organizations from the UAE government and South Korean companies concluded seven MOUs during the Abu Dhabi Investment Forum Seoul 2026 held in southern Seoul on Wednesday. Second Vice Science Minister Ryu Jae-Myung joined the gathering and signaled Seoul’s readiness to advance investment and industrial ties with the UAE in digital and advanced technology fields. The event was organized by the Abu Dhabi Investment Office, a UAE government body focused on drawing foreign investment, and represented the first time the office staged the forum in South Korea after similar events in other global cities.
Participating South Korean firms included Hanwha Life Insurance and Kakao Mobility, the ride-hailing unit of Kakao Corp., the ministry stated. The agreements span sectors such as digital assets, gaming and self-driving technologies, building on the two countries’ established collaboration in areas like nuclear energy. South Korea constructed the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE, a long-running joint project that has served as a foundation for broader economic links.
Bilateral trade data from the Observatory of Economic Complexity shows the UAE exported 1.19 billion dollars to South Korea in March 2026, primarily in crude and refined petroleum, while South Korea shipped goods worth 5.66 billion dollars to the UAE throughout 2025 according to United Nations COMTRADE figures compiled by Trading Economics. Major South Korean exports to the UAE encompass machinery, vehicles and electronic equipment. These flows underscore the complementary economic structures that have supported repeated high-level investment initiatives between the nations.
The latest MOUs follow the UAE’s 30 billion dollar investment pledge to South Korea announced in 2023, which subsequent talks have directed toward strategic domains including defense, artificial intelligence and nuclear cooperation, a February Yonhap News Agency dispatch indicated. Those discussions produced frameworks for joint projects exceeding 65 billion dollars overall. The Abu Dhabi Investment Office has pursued such outcomes through its global forum series, with prior stops in Shanghai, Milan and Mumbai as detailed on the office’s website.
The science ministry added that the ADIO’s choice of Seoul for this edition highlights growing interest in South Korean expertise across emerging industries. Ryu Jae-Myung’s presence at the forum reinforced commitments to collaborative efforts that align with both sides’ diversification strategies. Additional MOUs signed at the event are expected to facilitate technology transfers and market access in the specified cutting-edge areas.
