President Moon met today at the Blue House
with the Emir of Qatar.
In their summit, they agreed to upgrade their
countries' comprehensive partnership... and
signed multiple MOUs.
Shin Se-min has the details.
President Moon Jae-in's first diplomatic schedule
of the year -- a summit meeting with Sheikh
Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani, the visiting Emir
of Qatar.
South Korea and Qatar have strong bilateral
relations that translate into billions of
dollars in trade,... and today the leaders
strengthened their countries' ties both economically
and culturally.
"I'm glad to see that South Korea and Qatar,
as cherished friends and comprehensive partners,
have developed such friendly cooperation.
Our bilateral trade volume stands at 17 billion
U.S. dollars, and many South Korean firms
have entered the Qatari market.
They've been contributing to Qatar's development
of its infrastructure and economy."
A large chunk of that trade volume comes from
Seoul's imports of Liquefied Natural Gas from
the Gulf State.
According to industry data, Korea imported
some 44-million tons of Qatari LNG last year,...
accounting for over 30 percent of Korea's
total LNG imports.
The two leaders discussed ways for South Korean
firms in Qatar to grow in several areas -- including
transportation, smart-farming and smart-grid
technology... in addition to the sectors of
energy and construction, where they mainly
are now.
Korea and Qatar have also agreed to forge
closer ties in Qatari maritime affairs,...
with two sides promising to exchange related
technologies and proceed with joint research
projects,... as Qatar plans to ease its dependence
on foreign countries for food.
Solidifying their cooperation even further
through cultural ties,... the two sides also
exchanged their experience in hosting global
sporting events -- especially with Qatar now
prepping for the 2020 FIFA World Cup,... the
first time for the event to be hosted by a
country in the Middle East.
"The 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul, the 2002
Asian Games in Busan, the 2002 FIFA World
Cup and the PyeongChang Winter Olympics.
Seoul has experience in hosting multiple large
sporting events.
We will study those experiences and will be
sure to ask for support."
On the denuclearization front, the leaders
also agreed to put their heads
together and work towards bringing ultimate
peace to the Korean Peninsula.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News.
