South Korean President Park Geun-hye arrives in Doha tomorrow on a three-day official visit to Qatar as part of her current tour of four GCC countries.
President Park, who began her nine-day regional trip on March 1, has already visited Kuwait and Saudi Arabia. She arrived in the United Arab Emirates yesterday. Qatar is the last leg of her current Middle East tour.
Diplomatic sources said yesterday that President Park would have wide-ranging talks in Doha, with the focus on strengthening economic and cultural relations.
“The president will meet with HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani and several ministers,” the source said.
Memorandums of understanding (MoUs) are expected to be signed by the two countries in education, public health, tourism and telecommunications technology, paving the way for closer co-ordination and co-operation between institutions in the two countries.
In the energy sector, a memorandum on nuclear co-operation is also expected to be signed.
“President Park (during her visit) will give an evaluation of bilateral relations that marked the 40th anniversary last year and will also express her commitment to developing bilateral relations (further) looking to the future,” the source said.
“Her visit is expected to secure more business opportunities for Korean firms in Qatar, the host of the 2022 FIFA World Cup.”
HH the Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani paid a successful visit to South Korea in November last year, cementing bilateral relations.
“The (current) presidential trip (to the Middle East) carries added significance, in that it will expand the diplomatic horizon of the (South Korean) administration,” the source said.
“In a year marking the 50th anniversary of the advance into overseas construction business and the entrance into the Middle East some 40 years ago, the visit is expected to serve as an opportunity to capitalise on the ‘second Middle East boom’ that started in the late 2000s, as a new growth engine to facilitate the implementation of the Three-year Plan for Economic Innovation,” the source said.
“This will also make contributions to bolstering substantive, co-operative ties with the four nations as well as to securing critical co-operation for the resolution of the North Korean nuclear problem and the realisation of peaceful unification. On top of this, it will also help enhance the security of Koreans travelling in the region and promote the benefits of those who are residing in those countries.”
The UAE, the third destination of the presidential trip, has a strategic partnership with Korea and is the first country to which Korea exported a nuclear power plant.
On Tuesday, South Korea and Saudi Arabia signed a memorandum on nuclear co-operation during the visit by President Park to Riyadh.
South Korea and Saudi Arabia reached a “memorandum of understanding in the field of nuclear co-operation programmes,” a partnership in research and skills development, the state Saudi Press Agency (SPA) said.
South Korea’s Minister of Science, ICT and Future Planning, Choi Yang-hee, signed the memorandum with Saudi official Hisham bin Abdullah Yamani.
A “framework agreement” on technical co-operation, research and development and the exchange of personnel in the nuclear field has also been signed.
South Korea and Saudi Arabian ministers signed two other economic pacts, including one on sea transport, the Saudi Press Agency reported.
In Kuwait which was President Park’s first stop of the Middle East tour, the two countries signed three agreements and memorandums of understanding.
They included an agreement on mutual visa exemption for holders of diplomatic and special passports, a memo of understanding in the field of health and another memo of understanding on bilateral land transportation co-operation.
The Kuwait Petroleum Corporation (KPC) and South Korea’s, Korea National Oil Corporation (KNOC), SK Gas Company and Kia Shore Company inked three memos of understanding.
President Park and Emir Sheikh Sabah al-Ahmed al-Jaber al-Sabah held a summit at the Bayan Palace.
President Park’s visit to Kuwait was the first by a Korean president since March 2007.
“South Korea hopes that its companies can participate in big industrial and infrastructure projects being pushed by Middle East countries, as they seek to diversify their economic portfolios ahead of the inevitable advent of a post-oil era amid a recent plunge in crude prices,” South Korea’s Yonhap news agency reported ahead of President Park’s tour.
President Park has described Middle East countries as perfect partners for South Korea as they are pushing for development in various fields, including energy and healthcare.
President Park Geun-hye: due in Doha tomorrow.
