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Lee, UAE president hold summit to discuss bilateral economic ties

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By Yonhap
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President Lee Jae Myung, left, receives an escort from Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, non-executive director and chair of the board operating committee at the First Abu Dhabi Bank, at an airport in Abu Dhabi, Monday (local time). Yonhap

President Lee Jae Myung, left, receives an escort from Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, non-executive director and chair of the board operating committee at the First Abu Dhabi Bank, at an airport in Abu Dhabi, Monday (local time). Yonhap

ABU DHABI — President Lee Jae Myung held summit talks with United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan on Tuesday to discuss strategic cooperation in the areas of defense, advanced technologies and energy.

Lee attended an official welcoming ceremony at the presidential palace in Abu Dhabi, which will be followed by a ceremony to exchange memorandums of understanding, including in the artificial intelligence, renewable energy, aerospace and cultural sectors.

In a written interview with UAE newspaper Aletihad, Lee said he hopes his visit will lay the foundation for a "new centennial phase" in bilateral ties by expanding cooperation beyond traditional sectors, such as trade, the defense industry, nuclear power and energy, and into future-oriented fields.

Lee said he chose the UAE as the first destination of his inaugural Middle East trip since taking office in June to demonstrate his administration's commitment to deepening bilateral relations.

The UAE is the only Middle Eastern nation with which Korea has established a special strategic partnership.

As a welcoming gesture for Lee's state visit, four UAE Air Force fighter jets escorted his presidential aircraft as it entered UAE airspace on Monday, and major buildings in the capital were illuminated with the Korean flag in the evening.