“The mission, comprising senior education officials and academics, will meet top Korean officials and acquaint themselves with the Korean education system during their four-day stay in the country,” said Korean Ambassador Kim Jong-yong in Riyadh Saturday.
Saudi university rectors accompanying Al-Anqari will also sign MoUs with top Korean academic institutions to pave the way for closer cooperation in the education and science sectors, said the ambassador.
The Saudi minister is traveling with the representatives of different universities including King Saud University and King Abdulaziz University, he added.
He said that Al-Anqari would hold talks with his Korean counterpart Lee Ju-ho to explore new areas of cooperation.
Yong was speaking on the occasion of the first Korean food festival organized by Four Seasons Hotel in cooperation with the Korean Embassy. The festival will be formally inaugurated by the Korean ambassador at the hotel’s Grill Restaurant & Terrace, on Sunday night. Well-known Korean chef Jeon Chulhoon and two other chefs, who all specially flew to Riyadh, will prepare a range of authentic Korean cuisine daily for guests until Nov. 5. The festival will be the first opportunity for many Saudis and residents in Riyadh to taste traditional Korean cuisine, largely based on rice, noodles, tofu, vegetables, and meat.
Referring to the growing relations between Riyadh and Seoul in different sectors, Yong said that the visit of the Saudi delegation comes within the framework of the MoU signed by the two countries back in 2007.
“I am confident that the current visit of Al-Anqari will contribute to further strengthening cooperation,” said the envoy, referring to Seoul's economic rise and rapid development of its R&D landscape.
According to a report, South Korea now spends over 3.5 percent of its GDP on education and research, giving it a leading position internationally, significantly above the OECD average. Korea's R&D is application-oriented and has reached a very high level in areas such as information and communication technologies.
“Hence, South Korea can be a potential partner of the Kingdom in the field of education, especially in science & technology streams,” said the envoy.
At the moment, there are about 100 Saudi students currently on the rolls of different Korean universities. He said that friendly relations between the two countries were expanding well beyond traditional politics.
“The two countries share common perspectives and closely cooperate on global issues such as financial crisis, climate change, security and anti-terrorism”. He pointed out the Kingdom and South Korea will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations in 2012.
Traditional Korean meals are noted for the number of side dishes that accompany steam-cooked short-grain rice.
