Why 2018 is year for Korea, Dubai, UAE

By Richie Santosdiaz

Korea, the United Arab Emirates and the wider Gulf region in the Middle East represent strong, and growing, international trade and cultural exchange between the two global powerhouses.

South Korea has been in global headlines recently, mainly with respect to what is happening with North Korea.

However, Korea has also made regional headlines in the Middle East, particularly in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the wider Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC). The GCC is currently made of six member countries in the Arabian Gulf including the UAE and Saudi Arabia.

From international trade to even K-pop, Korea and the UAE are fostering an already strong relationship, especially this year.

When South Korean President Moon Jae-in visited the UAE earlier this year, both nations agreed to upgrade the UAE-Korea "strategic relationship" to a "special strategic partnership."

There was a high-profile UAE-Korea Business Forum in Dubai, which was organized by the Dubai Chamber of Commerce and Industry, in conjunction with the Korean International Trade Association.

Members of K-pop boy band EXO pose in front of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), in January. /Courtesy of Dubai Tourism

The president and CEO of the Dubai Chamber, Hamad Buamim, during the forum highlighted synergies and potential to explore bilateral business opportunities in sectors like ICT, cloud computing, Internet of Things, healthcare and life sciences, as well as establishing new joint ventures focusing on ship production, multi-modal logistics, construction and renewable energy, according to the UAE's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation website.

Korea is already one of the UAE's top trading partners, currently at eighth place in terms of trading and the UAE's seventh-largest import market. Two-way non-oil trade with just Dubai alone grew 8 percent from 2017 to around $7.5 billion, which comprised over $6 billion in imports and over $1.2 billion in exports.

UAE imports from Korea last year were at almost $8 billion, which represented an increase of over 3 percent. Korean-backed investments in the UAE last year were over $2.7 billion, which includes 83 commercial companies, 242 commercial agencies and 2,573 trademarks from Korea in the UAE.

According to the Korea Trade Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), which is Korea's trade and investment promotional agency, they have 15 offices in the Middle East and Africa, which includes not only Dubai but other cities in the region like Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, and Muscat, Oman.

Like other nation's trade and investment promotional agencies, KOTRA has been active in helping facilities trade and investment between the UAE and Korea.

Fun fact ― the Burj Khalifa, currently the world's tallest building and one of Dubai and the UAE's most iconic symbols, was helped built by Korean company Samsung C&T.

There is also increasing investment from the GCC to Korea as well. For instance, in 2016 UAE's Investment Corporation of Dubai was investing $100 million in SSangyong Engineering and Construction Co., while Saudi Arabia's Public Investment Fund was investing more than $1 billion in POSCO Engineering and Construction.

On a cultural and personal level, there is also growing interest between Korea and the UAE. For example, K-pop band EXO not only visited Dubai to a legion of fans, but, had the red carpet rolled out by Dubai, which included and, due to popular demand the band's hit song "Power" being included in Dubai's famous fountain show. It returned by popular demand last month, showing Korea's global influence even in culture ― K-pop.

From tourism to even relocating to their respective countries, the movement of people is also evident between Korea and the UAE. For instance, 140,000 Korean tourists visited or transited in the UAE, while 10,000 Emiratis visited South Korea. There are around 13,000 Korean expatriates, or expats, in the UAE (7,000 of them in Dubai and the northern emirates).

Finally, Korean Air and Emirates fly direct between Seoul and Dubai while Etihad Airways offers direct flights between the UAE's capital Abu Dhabi and Seoul, according to the airlines' websites.

The near future, besides those mentioned from this year, includes Dubai Expo 2020. Korea has hosted an international world's fair twice (Taejon Expo '93 and Expo 2012 in Yeosu) so their know-how in organizing the world's largest gathering of people can be valuable.

Korea itself plans to have a large country pavilion presence at Expo 2020. KOTRA recently in August launched an architectural design competition for the Korea pavilion at Dubai in 2020 and interested people who would qualify are encouraged to register and submit their entries on the official Korea Expo website (http://expo2020-korea.or.kr).

Dubai Expo 2020 begins Oct. 20, 2020, and will close on April 10, 2021, with 25 million visitors expected, according to their website.

The future of trade, investment and wider cultural exchanges between Korea and the UAE and wider Middle East looks promising and, given current trends, looks to grow and increase more in the future.

It is worth noting both countries have similar histories in economic transformation in a short period. With South Korea, it was not too long ago when it was once a poor country, which at one point was worst off economically than North Korea.

With the UAE, particularly Dubai, it was also not long ago, before the Burj Khalifa, Dubai Mall and other impressive development projects existed, that the city was once a small port city.

Therefore, with similar economic pasts and current aspirations, the relationship between Korea and the UAE makes them natural trading partners.

Richie Santosdiaz is an expert in economic development, mainly around the realm of internationalization, having worked as a consultant and adviser with various governments and multinationals. He is also an adviser for London-based Pax Tecum Global Consultancy. In addition, he also contributes and comments with various outlets with respect to economic development and wider international trade topics. He is currently based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE).