JEDDAH, 10 May — South Korean Prime Minister Lee Han Dong has said that his country’s relations with Saudi Arabia will turn a new leaf, following the meetings he had with Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Fahd, Crown Prince Abdullah, deputy premier and commander of the National Guard, and Prince Sultan, second deputy premier and minister of defense and aviation.
Speaking at a luncheon during the “Saudi Arabia-Korea Economic Partnership 2001” event marking business meetings and presentations on Korea’s current economic and industrial situations, held at the Westin Jeddah Hotel yesterday, the premier said: “During my meetings with the Kingdom’s highest leadership, we shared a common viewpoint that economic relations between the two countries should expand further.”
Lee, who is leading a 26-member business delegation currently on a four-day tour of the Kingdom, hoped that the day’s event would pave the way for new opportunities for the two countries to further consolidate their economic cooperation.
Extending his country’s greetings to the people of the Kingdom, the premier said the oil crisis in the early 1970s brought the two countries closer and since then the bilateral relations were being consolidated. “Especially from that time the Kingdom has been a major source of oil for us. Our companies have since implemented several development projects in the Kingdom worth $5 billion. The volume of trade between the two countries exceeded $10 billion, for the first time, in 2000. We should build further on our 30-year-old sound economic relationship,” he added.
Although the Kingdom is the largest producer of oil in the world, what was of great significance is that its nonoil sector had achieved tremendous growth, he said. “I’ve no doubt that the Kingdom will march ahead in both oil and nonoil sectors with its well executed Five Year Economic Development Plans and proposal to join the World Trade Organization (WTO), coupled with privatization and the free market system. The opening up of the investment sector will surely attract investments from all around the world,” he said.
About the Korean economy, the premier said it had started recovering following the economic reforms initiated three years ago. “Korea has now carved out a niche for itself in the world economy as an advanced industrial country. The emerging Korean economy presents several opportunities for mutual cooperation. This is the most opportune time when the two countries should start further exploring areas like investment and technology for mutual benefit. Korea with its highly skilled manpower can contribute to the Kingdom’s future development effort in a big way,” the premier said.
“I’m very glad to visit the Kingdom which is the cradle of Islam and has a rich background of culture and tradition,” Lee said, adding that the warmth and friendship with which the Kingdom treated other countries was exemplary.
Earlier, in his keynote speech, Lee Hee Beom, vice minister at the Ministry of Commerce, Industry and Energy, said the Korean government believed that the Kingdom could make a vital contribution to global trade diplomacy as a member of the WTO. “We’ve therefore strongly supported the Kingdom’s membership application. The Kingdom’s WTO membership could have a very positive impact on the current runup to the next round of multilateral trade negotiations,” the minister added.
“Korea also hopes to cooperate more closely with Saudi Arabia in international economic forums. This is especially important in view of the Kingdom’s key role in world energy markets and Korea’s complementary role as the world’s fourth largest oil importer,” he said.
Dwelling on bilateral relations, the minister said the two countries had a long-standing economic partnership that had produced enormous benefits for both sides. “But I hope that in the future we’ll work harder to diversify the relationship within the limits of comparative advantage. For example, I think that Korea could render valuable assistance to the Kingdom in carrying out its ambitious 7th Economic Development Plan. To be specific, Korean companies are highly experienced and cost-effective in the construction of high-tech plant and IT infrastructure.”
Korea was well on the road to recovery from the setback caused by Asia’s financial crisis, he emphasized and added: “All economic indices show that Korea is in a far better situation than it was at the end of 1997. In the wake of the financial crisis Korea’s foreign exchange reserves declined to $3.8 billion and the economy contracted by seven percent in 1998. However, the decline was reversed in 1999, and last year the economy grew by a robust nine percent with unemployment at four percent and foreign reserve at $94 billion — the fifth largest in the world. In addition, Korea is seeing an upturn in annual trade volume, from the pre-crisis level of $281 billion in 1997 to $333 billion in 2000.” Korea now had the 12th largest trade volume. “These positive changes can be largely attributed to the reform policies of the Kim Dae-jung government, whose national policy is based on democracy, market economy and productive welfare. The corporate scene is rapidly changing in Korea as companies are undergoing market-driven restructuring,” he added.
A video presentation on the “Korean economy — advancing toward new opportunities,” was followed by presentations on “The prospect of the Korean economy and investment climate” by Han Young Soo, senior executive director, Korea International Trade Association; “The plant industry of Korea” by Jung Tae Hun, vice president, Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction; and “Korean Construction Machinery & Material” by Kim Sung Hun, technical advisor, RC-System Co. Ltd.
Aside from top officials and Honorary Korean Consul Muhammad Y. Naghi, a large number of local businessmen were present at the event.
