President Park Geun-hye met with South Korean businessmen in Qatar on Saturday as she was winding down her four-nation Middle East swing, which is primarily focused on expanding economic ties beyond oil and construction, Park's office said.
South Korea's relations with oil-rich Middle East countries have long been dominated by Seoul's oil imports and its construction projects in the region.
Park's comments at the meeting were not immediately available, though her office said before the meeting that she will give them a pep talk about their hard work that has raised South Korea's image in the region.
Some 2,000 South Koreans are currently working in Qatar in sectors such as construction, hotel and airline, finance and energy industries. About half of them are working as cabin crew members of Qatar Airways, accounting for one-ninth of the total employees of the country's state-owned flag carrier.
The meeting with dozens of South Korean businessmen in Qatar is the latest in a series of meetings she has held during her Middle East swing that already took her to Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates.
Park's visit comes as Middle East countries are pushing to diversify their economies, which are heavily dependent on oil, ahead of the inevitable advent of a post-oil era.
South Korea believes Middle East countries' attempts to diversify their industries could present new business opportunities for its companies, especially in the fields of health care, information and communication technology and nuclear energy.
Also on Saturday, Park planned to attend a hotel function aimed at promoting a cultural exchange between the two countries.
Park was set to hold talks with Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad al-Thani on Sunday before returning home. (Yonhap)