Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud of Saudi Arabia attends the G20 Summit in Nusa Dua, Bali, Indonesia, Tuesday. The crown prince will visit Korea to discuss various issues including the Neom project. AP-Yonhap

Korea, Saudi Arabia to cooperate closely for Vision 2030

By Kwon Mee-yoo

Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Korea Sami M. Alsadhan / Courtesy of Embassy of Saudi Arabia in Seoul

Saudi Arabian Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman Al Saud arrived in Korea early this morning with his itinerary packed with meetings with Korea's President Yoon Suk-yeol as well as high-profile business leaders.

His visit centers on seeking partnerships for Neom, a project initiated by the crown prince back in 2017. The $500 billion (657 trillion won) project aims to develop eco-friendly and smart cities covering a total of 26,500 square kilometers in Saudi Arabia's northwestern Tabuk Province near the Red Sea.

The new urban project reflects the crown prince's Saudi Vision 2030, which charts the Middle East nation's future away from an oil-centric economy and there are opportunities for Korea to cooperate with Saudi Arabia as a major contributor to the country's infrastructure since the 1970s.

Ambassador of Saudi Arabia to Korea Sami M. Alsadhan said the crown prince's visit will be "a huge chance to explore these projects closely for Korean companies along with investors."

"For Korean companies, there are tremendous opportunities for investments in these kinds of projects since they gained expertise throughout the years working whether in hydrogen technology or even smart cities," the ambassador said during an e-mail interview with The Korea Times.

Many Korean businesses are eager to take part in the construction projects of Neom. A consortium including Samsung C&T and Hyundai E&C won a $1-billion deal to build a railway tunnel for THE LINE, a major part of the Neom project.

Earlier this month, Korea's Land, Infrastructure and Transport Minister Won Hee-ryong flew to Saudi Arabia to discuss partnerships in future mobility and infrastructure development and some 20 companies organized the One Team Korea road show to explore possible business opportunities.

During his stay here, the crown prince is expected to meet the Korean president to discuss various issues including the Neom project and exports of nuclear reactors. He is also scheduled to meet the chiefs of Korean conglomerates, including Samsung Electronics Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Chairman Chung Euisun and SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won.

The crown prince, who is scheduled to leave Korea Thursday night, last visited the country in 2019. His visit this time has drawn particular attention as Korea's port city of Busan and Saudi's capital of Riyadh are competing to host World Expo 2030. The host city for the upcoming expo is scheduled to be decided in November 2023.

"His Royal Highness' visit in 2019 showed the depth between the Kingdom and Korea relations in terms of cooperation at the political level and the economic one, of course," the ambassador said.