The 17th Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum held in Seoul

The 17th Korea-Middle East Cooperation Forum, co-hosted by Korea-Arab Society (KAS), the Jeju Peace Institute(JPI) and the Abu Dhabi-based Emirates Center for Strategic Studies and Research(ECSSR) with the support of Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea was held in Seoul, Korea on 8 November.

Vice Minister Choi Jong-kun made the remarks at the Forum in Seoul, attended both in person and online by government officials and private experts from the two sides.

In his keynote speech, H.E. Choi noted relations between South Korea and the region are steadily developing in a future-oriented way. He suggested the two sides explore new areas of cooperation, including new energy resources, technology–based agriculture and healthcare and medicine as they prepare for a post-pandemic era.

H.E. Lana Nusseibeh Assistant Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation of the United Arab Emirates noted that mutual investments in science and technology and medicine represented remarkable opportunities for cooperation and development, mentioning the cooperation between our two countries has been a key Incubator of many of these positive trends.

H.E. Bader Mohammed Al-Awadi Dean of Arab Diplomatic Corps in Seoul/Ambassador of Kuwait to Korea emphasized opening channels of continuous political consultation between both sides and creating mechanisms for strategic cooperation. He also noted that today’s forum would provide participants with a clear picture of this cooperation between Korea and the Middle East in the context of the important developments that Arab region has witnessed recently on the political and economic levels

This year’s forum under the theme “Future directions in strengthening the strategic partnership between Korea and the Middle-East in the post COVID-19 era” featured two sessions. The forum brought high-level officials, business people, media, scholars and students including H.E. Lana Nusseibeh, assistant minister for political affairs at the UAE foreign ministry, H.E. Sultan Mohammed Al-Nuaimi, director general of ECSSR, H.E. Bader Mohammad Al-Awadi, Dean of Arab Diplomatic Corps in Seoul and other arab ambassadors.

It served as an opportunity for all participants to discuss imperative issues in depth ways for Korea and the Middle East to develop mutual understanding and to build networks among them.