ON the auspicious occasion of the 4,342nd Anniversary of the National Foundation Day of Korea, I am very honored to share the happiness of Korean people with citizens of the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.
I would also like to extend my sincere greetings and deep appreciation to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Abdullah, the government of Saudi Arabia and the people of the Kingdom for their hospitality.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between Saudi Arabia and the Republic of Korea in the early 1960s, the two countries have witnessed their ties of friendship and cooperation grow from strength to strength. Above all, high-level exchanges of visits laid down the foundation for such a strong relationship. Since King Abdullah visited Korea in 1998 as the crown prince, visits of ministers and senior officials of Saudi governments and business leaders multiplied. Our bilateral relations have been further consolidated by the visit of the Korean president to the Kingdom in March 2007. I am certain that these visits have greatly contributed to strengthening the already good relations between our two countries.
In this context, I would like to note that the Korea-Saudi Arabia Joint Commission at the ministerial level has served as a good regular forum for discussions to enhance economic, trade, cultural and other matters of mutual interest for the promotion of cooperation since 1981.
Koreans believe that without the Kingdom’s role in Korea’s nation building, Korea would not look the same, especially in the context of economic development. During the period of the economic boom in Saudi Arabia in the 1970s and 1980s, hundreds of thousands of Korean construction workers worked with Saudi nationals to expand the infrastructure of the Kingdom. During that time, Korean companies built various monumental edifices such as the Saudi Arabian Ministry of Interior, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, and the Ministry of Defense, not to mention many major public facilities such as airports, deep-sea ports and highways in the country. The Korean companies’ revenues from the Saudi construction projects helped Korea nurture its burgeoning heavy industry and eventually emerge as a global economic power. The economic ties that the two countries shared at that time is a great example of mutually supportive relations.
It is extremely encouraging to witness the recent return of Korean companies to Saudi Arabia after almost two decades of absence. Currently, there are around 100 companies that are engaged in execution of more technology-intensive and value-added projects like petrochemical plants, desalination, power generation, information technology and communication as well as in the sales of high quality products such as electronics, communication equipment and automobiles. This reflects Korea’s advancement in science and technology.
The volume of Korea’s accumulated investment in Saudi Arabia until the end of 2008 remained at $75 million. This is far from satisfactory in view of the active economic relations that exist between the two countries today. Yet, considering the fact that numerous Korean companies have set up their entities in the Kingdom in the past few years, I expect Korean investment in the Kingdom to grow dramatically in the near future. I can confidently say that this trend has already started: The successful partnership between LG Electronics and the Saudi Shaker for air conditioner manufacturing plant illustrates the potential we have for further cooperation. In July this year, a consortium led by the Korea Electric Power Corporation (KEPCO) signed a contract with the Saudi Electricity Company (SEC) to build a power plant in Rabigh. Hanwha Chemical of Korea and Saudi International Petrochemical Company (Sipchem) agreed to form a joint venture to build a high-tech petrochemical plant in Jubail. These projects will funnel millions of dollars of Korean investment into the Kingdom.
Since many deregulatory reform measures have been taken in Korea under President Lee Myung-bak, I am sure that the investment environment in Korea is now much better than ever before. It is also noteworthy that Saudi investment in Korea has increased at a steady pace in the fields of real estate, petrochemicals and refinery. As of the end of 2008, the total amount of Saudi investment to Korea has reached more than $600 million including that of Saudi Aramco to the Korean S-Oil Refinery Co.
Saudi Arabia is Korea’s fourth largest trading partner. The bilateral trade volume has leaped from $4.2 billion in 1991 to $39 billion in 2008 with $28.6 billion of the trade balance in favor of Saudi Arabia. The Kingdom is Korea’s largest oil supplier, making up one third of Korea’s total oil import. Korean exports to the Kingdom in 2008 reached $5.2 billion, mainly consisting of automobiles, ships, iron and steel products, electronics and machinery products. The yearly average of Saudi imports of Korean vehicles has reached almost $1 billion.
Throughout the year of 2008, both countries fully enjoyed each other’s traditional cultures performed by visiting artists in calligraphy, photography, traditional dance and folkloric performances. This year, the Korean Taekwondo (traditional martial art) team will soon be visiting Riyadh to showcase another aspect of Korean culture to the Saudis. Culture and people-to-people ties constitute the backbone of bilateral relations. Remarkable increase of exchanges in these areas points to the potentials of our friendship.
Cooperation in the field of education is constantly being strengthened based on the MoU signed by our two countries in 2007. Korea particularly appreciates the King Abdullah Scholarship Program through which more than 80 Saudi students were sent to Korea. We hope that this collaboration on education will further be broadened and deepened. I am also pleased that both Korea and the Kingdom have recently shown their interests for bilateral cooperation in the field of science and technology.
On Sept. 23, 2009, Korea was honored and privileged to be invited to the grand opening of the King Abdullah University of Science and Technology (KAUST) in Thuwal. I was deeply impressed by the strong leadership of King Abdullah in transforming a great vision into a reality in the form of KAUST which is rightly described as ‘King’s gift to the world’. I am sure that such initiatives will lay a solid foundation for further developments in the human resources of the Kingdom to which Korea stands read In the international arena, the two countries share common perspectives and closely cooperate on global issues such as the global financial crisis, climate change, security, and anti-terrorism. As evidenced at the recent G-20 Summits in Washington, London and Pittsburgh, Saudi Arabia and Korea have cooperated very closely in global efforts to overcome the financial crisis. Korea highly appreciates the important leadership role that the Kingdom plays in dealing with the crisis. Last week, the G-20 leaders in Pittsburgh decided to have a Summit in Korea in 2010. Like in the past, Korea sincerely hopes to enjoy the Kingdom’s full support and contribution.
I would also like to point out that Korea greatly appreciates the efforts made by the Kingdom in resolving global issues like anti-terrorism, interfaith dialogue, peace and reconciliation in the Middle East and environment and so on. In particular, Korea will never forget the help and support given by King Abdullah when some Koreans in Afghanistan were kidnapped and brutally murdered by terrorists in 2007.
“Low Carbon, Green Growth” is a policy catchphrase in Korea. On climate change, at the UN Climate Summit in New York last week, President Lee Myung-bak proposed a new UN mechanism to encourage developing countries to join the fight against global warming and for the developed countries to provide financial and technological assistance. He also called for the establishment of a registry of Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs) of developing countries at the United Nations. Korea looks forward to working closely with the Kingdom on this critical issue of climate change.
As a matter of fact, the Korean government has already launched a series of bold initiatives to leapfrog into a low carbon society. The package is an investment plan of $38.5 billion for the next four years on nine key green projects which include: 1) revitalization of four major rivers; 2) building green transportation; 3) building database on national territory and resources; 4) water resource management; 5) green car and cleaner energy program; 6) resource recycling program; 7) forest management and biomass program; 8) green home, office and schools; and 9) greener landscape and infrastructure. According to the UN Environment Program Report for the United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009, Korea, followed by China and Australia, leads the world’s 20 largest economies in the percentage of economic stimulus money in environmental projects. I hope that Saudi investors find this “Green Growth Strategy” of the Korean government interesting.
The year 2012 will mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries, and I hope that both governments will make this event a culmination of renewed cooperation. Considering the immense potential for future development and the unfaltering will of our leaders, I am optimistic that our days ahead will be very bright. That said, I would like to offer my full support to the vision of the leaders of the Kingdom for economic reform, particularly in the area of human resources development, education and long term development strategies of economic cities.
Based on these broadened political, economic and cultural relations, I am certain that the partnership between Korea and the Kingdom will be more developed and consolidated than ever before. I, as ambassador, am fully committed to further strengthening the relationship between our two countries for the coming decade and after.
Hong Jong-ki
Ambassador of the
Republic of Korea
