Nam Hyun-woo has worked as a staff writer at The Korea Times since 2013, mostly covering business and politics. He currently belongs to the Business Desk where he covers topics such as emerging tech, AI, ICT and Korea's chaebol community. Prior to joining the team, he was the paper's correspondent for the presidential office of Korea during the Yoon Suk Yeol and Moon Jae-in administrations.
Korea, Qatar bolster ties in energy, defense, security sectors
President Yoon Suk Yeol speaks with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani during a memorandom of understanding signing ceremony after their summit at Amiri Diwan, the emir's office, in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap
By Nam Hyun-woo
HD Hyundai Heavy inks $3.9 bil. shipbuilding deal, largest in Korean history
President Yoon Suk Yeol and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to a comprehensive strategic partnership during their summit in Doha, Wednesday, by expanding cooperation from conventional energy and construction to the defense industry.
The presidential office said the summit took place at Amiri Diwan, the emir's office, on the second day of Yoon's two-day state visit to Qatar .
During the summit, Yoon and Sheikh Tamim noted that next year marks the 50th anniversary of bilateral diplomatic relations and agreed to deepen their partnership to cover not only energy and construction, but also defense, national security, investments, small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), agriculture and other fields.
In particular, the leaders agreed to expand the scope of bilateral cooperation across the LNG value chain, which will stabilize Seoul’s gas supply in the face of the highly volatile international energy market.
As part of that agreement, Korea’s HD Hyundai Heavy Industries and Qatar Energy signed a $3.9 billion deal to build 17 liquefied natural gas (LNG) carrier vessels, which is the largest single deal in Korea’s shipbuilding history.
“This accounts for almost half of the shipbuilder’s yearly order and improves the share of the global LNG carrier market held by Korean companies to 81 percent from 74 percent,” senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Choi Sang-mok said.
“Currently, Hanwha Ocean (formerly known as Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering) and Samsung Heavy Industries are also negotiating deals with their Qatari partners for approximately 30 vessels, and we expect more results will be announced in the near future,” Choi added.
Qatar is Korea’s second largest LNG exporter, with 21 percent of the country’s entire LNG imports being shipped from Doha. First Deputy Director of National Security Kim Tae-hyo said the summit provided momentum to expand the LNG partnership between the two countries, and the deal will “upgrade the bilateral partnership into a reciprocal relationship.”
Including the deal, businesses in two countries signed 12 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and contracts worth $4.6 billion during Yoon’s stay in Qatar, spanning smart farms, cultural content, medicine, finance and other emerging industries.
“Yoon’s visit became a chance to deepen Korea-Qatar cooperation in energy and construction and at the same time expanding the scope of the partnership into various fields,” Kim said. “Since the two countries decided to explore partnerships in investments, SMEs, smart farms, and shipping, detailed programs will follow to provide greater opportunities and benefits for the people of the two countries.”
President Yoon Suk Yeol shakes with a participant of the Korea-Qatar Investment Forum at a hotel in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday (local time). Yonhap
Along with economic partnerships, the leaders decided to strengthen their strategic cooperation by building communication channels for diplomacy and national security match their comprehensive strategic partnership.
Also, the two countries signed an MOU on defense industry cooperation and military supply, with Korea hoping for a potential arms deal with Qatar. .
In the MOU, the two countries agreed to exchange information related to the defense industry and set up a joint committee.
“Qatar is now rising as one of the biggest clients in the international defense market,” Kim said. “As the two countries agreed to exchange defense industry information and set up a joint committee through the MOU, Yoon’s visit to Qatar will serve as the first step in facilitating bilateral defense cooperation.”
According to an official at the presidential office, the MOU will serve as the basis for the two countries to begin talks for comprehensive defense industry cooperation, rather than being a contract on arms or ammunition.
Affecting the bilateral defense partnership will likely be Korea’s previous contract with the United Arab Emirates (UAE) to export the Cheongung-II surface-to-air missile system, and ongoing talks with Saudi Arabia to export an air defense system.
“I can say that the three countries of Qatar, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are closely comparing each other on what types of weapons are being traded and how technologies are being transferred,” the official said.
President Yoon Suk Yeol and Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani pose for photo during their summit at Amiri Diwan, the emir's office, in Doha, Qatar, Wednesday (local time). Joint Press Corps
Yoon will wrap up his six-day state visits to Saudi Arabia and Qatar by leaving Doha late Wednesday. Adding Yoon’s state visit to the UAE in January, the president completed bilateral diplomacy with the top three economies in the Middle East this year.
“Following MOUs worth $29 billion with Saudi Arabia late last year, the UAE promised to make $30 billion investments in Korea earlier this year,” Choi, the senior presidential secretary for economic affairs, said. “During this trip, there were outcomes worth $15.6 billion in Riyadh and $4.6 in Qatar. All combined, a total of $79.2 billion worth of opportunities have been created for Korean businesses.”
Choi noted that MOUs and contracts signed during Yoon’s trip to Saudi Arabia and Qatar mostly involve new fields related to Riyadh’s Vision 2030 and Qatar’s National Vision 2030, which are national strategies aimed at moving beyond the conventional oil business and finding sustainable growth engines.
“With the Middle East bracing for an immense change toward the post-oil era, staying ahead of this transformation will enable us to seize opportunities for new collaborative ventures before others,” Choi said. “This heralds an era of shared prosperity between Korea and the Middle East, opening a new window of opportunity for our citizens and businesses.”