It has been reported that Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince and Prime Minister, Mohammed bin Salman, directly requested during a meeting with President Yoon Seok-yeol, “Korean companies’ participation in the urban development project ‘Neom City’.”
According to the government on the 27th, a senior official said that Crown Prince Mohammed directly mentioned the active participation of Korean companies in ‘giga projects’ such as Saudi Arabia’s Neom City during several meetings held on the occasion of President Yoon’s state visit. As Crown Prince Muhammad is focusing on the success of the ‘Neom City’ project, a smart city construction project worth $500 billion (700 trillion won), this is interpreted as an intention to make the most of the cutting-edge technology of Korean companies. Crown Prince Muhammad also said to President Yoon, “Cooperation with Korea is important in the defense industry as well. “I want a lot of cooperation,” he said. On the 23rd (local time), President Yoon met with the Saudi Minister of Defense and the Minister of National Defense to share the security situation and the atmosphere was said to be quite friendly.
This is in the same context as Crown Prince Muhammad’s request to President Yoon to become a partner in creating Saudi Arabia’s manufacturing base. Crown Prince Muhammad, who is considered a young reformist monarch, announced ‘Vision 2030’ to break away from the country’s industry’s dependence on oil and to advance its industrial structure. Cho Tae-yong, director of the National Security Office, explained, “It seems that Crown Prince Bin Salman, born in 1985, believed that he needed to create a manufacturing base during the next 30, 40, or 50 years (of his rule).” On the 24th, Crown Prince Muhammad visited the guesthouse where President Yoon was staying unscheduled and had a nice chat, then personally drove a Mercedes-Benz vehicle with President Yoon in the car and went to the Future Investment Initiative Forum (FII) event venue.
An official from the Presidential Office said, “Saudi Arabia is attracted to Korea’s development model, which achieved industrialization and advanced industry development in a short period of time,” and added, “Korea’s cultural dynamism, including K-pop, is also having a positive effect on the development of the relationship between the two countries.” He said. It appears to be in this context that the Saudi Minister of Culture visited entertainment companies such as CJ ENM during his visit to Korea last year.
Source: Donga
Mark Jones is a world traveler and journalist for News Rebeat. With a curious mind and a love of adventure, Mark brings a unique perspective to the latest global events and provides in-depth and thought-provoking coverage of the world at large.