South Korean President Lee Jae-Myung (5-R) attended the South Korea-Emirati Business Roundtable held in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates. file. Photo provided by Yong Hap/EPA
May 13th (Asia Today) — South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are moving to strengthen strategic cooperation in artificial intelligence infrastructure and semiconductors.
On Wednesday, government officials and business leaders from both countries gathered in Seoul for the Korea-UAE AI Infrastructure and Semiconductor Investment Forum.
The event was hosted by South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Ministry of Science, Information and Communication Technology, and the Presidential Committee on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.
The forum followed the launch of the Bilateral AI Cooperation Working Group, which was established during the UAE state visit in November. Officials said the conference aims to turn previous discussions about AI infrastructure, models and services into investments and business projects.
A 25-member UAE delegation visited South Korea, including Mohamed Abdulrahman Alhawi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Investment, officials from the state-backed AI company Core42, investment company MGX, research institutes such as the Advanced Technology Research Council and the Institute of Technology and Innovation, Mubadala, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.
UAE Ambassador to South Korea Abdullah Saif Al Nuaimi also attended.
Officials discussed collaboration across the AI ecosystem, including low-power, high-efficiency infrastructure based on neural processing units, the development of language-specific AI models, and expanded testing of AI services in industrial environments.
The forum also focused on combining the UAE’s investments in large-scale AI data centers with South Korea’s strengths in semiconductor and data center operations.
The possibility of Korean companies participating in the UAE’s Stargate AI Data Center Campus project was also discussed.
In the afternoon session, Korean AI semiconductor, data center and AI solutions companies introduced their business models and held one-on-one discussions with UAE officials and investors.
The South Korean government said it aims to link the forum to future investments and demonstration projects.
Ryu Jae-myung, second vice minister of the Ministry of Science, Technology, Information and Communication Technology, said, “AI competitiveness comes from an ecosystem that organically connects semiconductors, data centers, models, and services.” “We will build a practical cooperation model by combining South Korean technology and the UAE’s investment capabilities,” he said.
Kim Sung-yeol, vice minister of industrial growth at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said the competitiveness of AI will depend on both infrastructure construction and industrial applications.
“We will combine the strengths of our two countries and expand cooperation to the global market,” Kim said.
Alhawi said cooperation between the two countries has accelerated since the UAE announced a $30 billion investment commitment to South Korea in 2023.
“We will expand our cooperation across the entire AI value chain,” he said.
Industry insiders said the forum could serve as a test case to link South Korean AI semiconductor companies’ expansion into the Middle East with increased UAE capital investment in South Korean AI infrastructure.
— Asia Today reported. Translation by UPI
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Korea original report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260513010003384
