President Moon Vows to Help Diversify Saudi Arabia’s Economy During Crown Prince’s Visit to South Korea

The Saudi Crown Prince received a very warm welcome in South Korea despite the controversy around his alleged ordering of the killing of a journalist:

President Moon Jae-in held a summit Wednesday with Mohammed bin Salman, the crown prince of Saudi Arabia and de facto ruler of the oil-rich kingdom, and agreed to diversify and expand bilateral cooperation. 

The governments and companies from the two countries signed economic agreements worth over $8 billion.

The summit took place at the Blue House in the afternoon as a part of the crown prince’s two-day trip to Korea. During the summit, the two leaders discussed moving beyond traditional cooperation in energy and infrastructure industries, according to a joint press release. 

Moon expressed support for Saudi’s Vision 2030, an economic and social reform initiative pushed by the crown prince. The two leaders agreed to strengthen a bilateral strategic partnership to promote the program, according to the statement. 

Saudi Vision 2030, announced in April 2016 by the crown prince, is supposed to reduce the country’s dependence on oil while diversifying its economy. Korea is one of Saudi Arabia’s eight strategic partners in the project, along with the United States, Japan and China. 

Saudi Arabia is Korea’s largest supplier of crude oil. It is also Korea’s most important economic partner in the Middle East. 

Joong Ang Ilbo

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