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| Korea's presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki, left, meets United Arab Emirates (UAE) President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan as Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol's special envoy during his visit to the UAE from Dec. 11-14. Yonhap |
President Yoon Suk-yeol expressed his wish to further upgrade Korea's special strategic partnership with the United Arab Emirates in a letter delivered to the UAE president by his chief of staff, the presidential office said Wednesday.
Presidential chief of staff Kim Dae-ki paid an official visit to the UAE from Sunday to Wednesday as a special envoy of Yoon and delivered the letter during a courtesy call on UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
In the letter, Yoon said he wishes to "develop the bilateral relationship with the UAE, which is the only nation in the Middle East to have established a special strategic partnership with us, one step further," according to his office.
The UAE president said the two countries' relationship is "very special" and promised that his country will "stand by Korea at all times without changing or wavering," while also expressing his wish for greater cooperation between the countries.
The presidential office especially noted that Mohamed publicly declared his commitment to strengthening cooperation with Korea by receiving the envoy in front of some 150 key government and parliamentary officials in a royal "Majlis," a type of special gathering in Islamic countries.
Kim also met with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, chairman of the Executive Affairs Authority of Abu Dhabi, and discussed ways to increase strategic cooperation in nuclear power, energy, investment and defense.
In a meeting with UAE Industry Minister Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the two exchanged opinions on cooperating in the energy and climate change sectors. (Yonhap)
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