The United Arab Emirates has agreed to send members of its armed forces and their families for medical treatment to South Korea if they fall ill with cancer or other serious diseases, the defense ministry in Seoul said Friday.
The deal, signed on Sept. 19 between the ministry and the UAE's military, is expected to generate about 800 billion won ($717 million) in revenues for South Korea annually as some 4,000 UAE patients are expected to visit for medical treatment a year.
The agreement calls for the UAE to send servicepersons or their family members with cancer, diabetes, heart and other serious illnesses for treatment to six major hospitals in Seoul, including Seoul National University Hospital, Samsung Medical Center and Asan Medical Center.
"We plan to strengthen medical cooperation between the militaries of the two countries, such as exchanging military medical personnel, establishing an internship program for UAE military doctors and organizing a joint seminar on military medical affairs," said Col. Kim Jung-pil, a ministry official.
The two sides have developed close cooperative ties since South Korea dispatched a contingent of troops to the UAE in 2011. The Akh unit, with 150 soldiers, has been based in the eastern region of Al Ain to help train the Middle East nation's special operations forces.
Earlier this week, South Korea's Cabinet decided to extend the deployment for one more year to the end of 2013. (Yonhap)