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Will Korea see a silver lining in its first overseas sale of T-50 Golden Eagle trainer jets during President Lee Myung-bak’s forthcoming visit to the United Arab Emirates?
Cheong Wa Dae announced Wednesday that Lee will visit the Middle East nation from March 12 to 14 for talks on deepening bilateral economic cooperation and energy ties.
The much-speculated arms deal between the two countries is not on the official agenda at Lee’s summit with UAE President Sheikh Khalifa bin Zayed Al Nahyan, slated for March 13 in Abu Dhabi.
However, industry watchers say defense officials from the two nations will engage in closed-door talks on the sale of the trainer aircraft as well as other weapons in which the UAE has a keen interest.
As Korea’s plan to export the T-50s to Indonesia has been thrown into question following a dispute over alleged spying on the Indonesian delegation by Korean agents in Seoul last month, hopes are rising that the UAE will become the first country to buy the aircraft.
According to diplomatic sources, Korea and Indonesia had been discussing a package arms deal, under which Seoul sells the T-50s at a discounted price while providing military equipment and other weapons that Indonesia needs, such as tanks and submarines.
Seoul could seek a similar deal with Abu Dhabi.
The Lee administration has linked industrial projects to defense cooperation to tap new markets in the oil-rich country.
Early this year, Korea sent a battalion of combat troops to the UAE on a two-year mission to support the training of its service members. The troop dispatch was part of broader defense cooperation programs between the two nations, following Seoul’s successful winning of an $18.6 billion contract to build four nuclear power plants there.
During the upcoming three-day trip, Lee will visit the troops to give a pep talk and attend a groundbreaking ceremony for one of the reactors, the presidential office said.
Korea-UAE defense ties are expected to deepen further as the leaders of both countries have agreed to cement cooperation in all areas, including the economy, energy, the environment as well as medical and health services.
“Lee’s visit will focus on strengthening the strategic partnership between Korea and the UAE,” a presidential spokesman said.
The strategic partnership means there will be more military exchanges. And as the Arab nation became the first importer of the South Korean nuclear technology, officials here hope it will be the first for the T-50s, too.
Sources said Korea has promised to transfer key arms technologies related to unmanned aerial vehicles, ballistic missiles as well as electromagnetic pulse bombs to the UAE.
Last year, UAE Crown Prince Mahammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan visited Seoul for talks with President Lee on economic and defense cooperation. He also met with political and economic leaders here to discuss future joint projects aimed at developing the strategic partnership.
In 2009, the UAE selected Italy’s M-346 over the T-50 as the preferred bidder in its advanced jet trainer procurement project, with deliveries then scheduled to begin in 2012.
However, Abu Dhabi announced last month that the negotiations with the Italian developer Aermacchi over the possible $1.37 billion deal had stopped, raising hopes here that it could reopen talks with South Korea to purchase the T-50.
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