South Korea and Saudi Arabia are expanding their existing economic cooperation, which has primarily focused on oil and infrastructure, to include future advanced industries such as electric vehicles, artificial intelligence (AI), healthcare, and defense.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that the '2026 Korea-Saudi Business Investment Forum' was held in Seoul on October 6. Over 250 business leaders from both countries attended the forum.
The two nations discussed ways to enhance cooperation in existing infrastructure and energy sectors while broadening their collaboration into advanced industries like electric vehicles, AI, healthcare, and defense.
Saudi Arabia is South Korea's largest oil supplier and its biggest economic partner in the Middle East. Recently, the kingdom has been pursuing economic diversification based on its 'Vision 2030' initiative, aiming to reduce its dependence on oil and foster manufacturing and advanced industries.
During the forum, investment proposals and one-on-one consultations were conducted across four key sectors: advanced industries, telecommunications, media, healthcare, utilities, resources, logistics, and special zone development and construction. Approximately 20 major Saudi companies participated, including the Public Investment Fund (PIF), Ceer, the kingdom's first electric vehicle company, STC, the largest telecommunications company, and the state-owned defense firm SAMI. About 90 South Korean companies currently engaged in projects with Saudi Arabia or seeking new business opportunities also took part.
The industrial cooperation between the two countries is rapidly expanding beyond energy and infrastructure into manufacturing and advanced industries. Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan visited Saudi Arabia in June, where he signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in the oil and gas sector and reviewed the progress of joint projects, including a Hyundai Motor-PIF joint vehicle assembly plant and an HD Korea Shipbuilding and Aramco joint shipyard, IMI. At that time, both sides agreed to expand their cooperation into advanced industries such as minerals and AI based on the achievements in automotive and shipbuilding collaboration.
The local vehicle assembly plant being developed by Hyundai and PIF aims to produce about 50,000 vehicles annually, combining electric and internal combustion engine models. The IMI shipyard, being developed by HD Korea Shipbuilding and Aramco, will cover approximately 4.96 million square meters and is expected to produce around 40 very large crude carriers each year.
This forum focused on connecting government-level cooperation to actual investments and business opportunities between companies. The Saudi side introduced the local investment environment through the PIF and the Investment Promotion Agency, while sector-specific companies proposed business plans and collaboration opportunities.
Park Jeong-seong, head of the Trade Negotiation Headquarters at the Ministry of Trade, delivered a speech stating, 'The solid trust that Korea and Saudi Arabia have built will be the most reliable key to turning crises into opportunities amid complex challenges such as geopolitical conflicts, the AI revolution, and protectionism. We will accelerate cooperation in advanced industries by leveraging the AI transition while solidifying the institutional foundation for trade and investment between our countries through the swift enactment of the Korea-GCC Free Trade Agreement (FTA).'
* This article has been translated by AI.
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