S. KOREA SIGNS MORE DEALS WITH UAE

[Anchor Lead]

The government sent a shuttle economic cooperation delegation to the UAE as a follow up measure to the MOUs and the investment plan of 30 billion dollars to Korea which the UAE had promised when President Yoon Suk Yeol made a state visit. Here, about two billion dollars in defense contracts were additionally made, showing the government's plan to expand its investment attraction activities in the Middle East.

[Pkg]

Korean and UAE businessmen in the defense and new energy industries gathered at one place. This was an occasion to inspect the outcomes of the S. Korea-UAE summit held in January. At the event were not only the business leaders who had accompanied the president during the visit but also the UAE companies that had shown interest at the time. About two billion dollars in defense contracts were concluded and deals in other areas worth 9.3 million dollars are in progress. UAE companies were particularly interested in Korea's new technologies.

[Soundbite] Nimer Al Atar(UAE Company CEO)

Also, Korea's trade ministry as well as the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency provided government-level support.

[Soundbite] Jeong Bo-rim(Video Equipment Maker) : "I heard that forming trust is the most important factor in entering the Middle East market. So it took longer to set up meetings and discuss business matters with the buyers."

When President Yoon Suk Yeol visited the UAE in January, the nation had promised to invest 30 billion dollars through its sovereign fund. But the details of the investment projects are yet to be ironed out.

[Soundbite] Ahn Duk-geun(Trade minister) : "We will try to produce more tangible export and investment results by continuing to have more detailed discussions."

Seoul plans to expand its investment attraction activities by sending economic cooperation delegations to Saudi Arabia and other Middle Eastern countries.