MOON ON COOPERATING WITH SAUDI ARABIA

[Anchor Lead]

President Moon Jae-in, who is touring the Middle East, has arrived in Saudi Arabia and met with its crown prince. Moon stressed cooperation in hydrogen economy, smart cities, public healthcare, and touted Korea's technological prowess in the areas of nuclear energy and weapons.

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Saudi Arabia established diplomatic ties with South Korea 60 years ago. It's the second stop of President Moon Jae-in's Middle East tour. In a meeting with Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, Moon stressed that South Korea possesses the world's best nuclear energy technologies and can become an optimal partner for Saudi Arabia's nuclear plant construction project. After signing a 4 trillion won deal for exporting Korean weapons to the UAE, Moon went on to tout South Korea's weapons to the world's top weapons importer.

[Soundbite] Park Kyung-mi(Cheong Wa Dae spokesperson) : "Rather than just exporting a weapon system, the president promised maximum cooperation in transferring South Korea's weapon technology so that Saudi Arabia can produce weapons locally."

While meeting with local business people, Moon proposed bilateral cooperation in three sectors; hydrogen economy, smart cities and public healthcare.

[Soundbite] Moon Jae-in(President) : "The governments of the two nations will spare no support for business cooperation. The framework agreement signed this time will facilitate financial support."

On Wednesday afternoon, the president was scheduled to meet with the secretary general of the six-nation Gulf Cooperation Council to announce the resumption of FTA talks. After visiting the construction site of Riyadh Metro, being built by a Korean company, Moon will head to Egypt, the final leg of his tour.