UAE and S.Korea forge strategic tech pact in AI, semiconductors

SEOUL: The Ministry of Investment has led a high-level delegation to the brotherly Republic of Korea to advance bilateral cooperation and unlock new partnership opportunities across the artificial intelligence (AI) and semiconductor value chain, reinforcing the UAE’s economic diversification agenda and its strategic focus on future-defining industries.

The delegation was headed by Mohammad Abdulrahman Alhawi, Undersecretary of the Ministry of Investment. Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi, UAE Ambassador to the brotherly Republic of Korea, also took part in the visit, which brought together a representative cross-section of the UAE’s technology and investment ecosystem, including AI national champions, Core42 and MGX; government-backed research and innovation institutions, the Advanced Technology Research Council (ATRC) and the Technology Innovation Institute (TII); and preeminent investment institutions, such as Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (ADIA).

The delegation participated in the “Korea-UAE AI Infrastructure and Semiconductor Investment Cooperation Forum”, co-organised by Korea’s Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, and the Presidential Council on National AI Strategy.

The forum was convened under the auspices of a joint working group established during the UAE state visit in November 2025, bringing together government agencies and private enterprises from both countries to chart a shared agenda for AI ecosystem cooperation spanning infrastructure, models, and services.

At the high-level bilateral meeting, both sides recognised the strength of each other’s national AI strategies and implementation capabilities, and aligned on the importance of establishing a structured cooperative framework to accelerate AI ecosystem development against the backdrop of rapidly intensifying global competition.

Alhawi participated in the high-level panel discussion that followed, which examined practical cooperation models designed to harness the complementary strengths of the two economies, while Korean companies delivered investment pitches across three priority areas - AI semiconductors, infrastructure, and AI technology.

As part of the visit, the delegation also toured a number of Korea’s most advanced technology and semiconductor facilities as part of a wider effort to deepen cooperation across the AI supply chain, as the UAE is accelerating its push to position itself as a leading global AI hub and to deliver large-scale AI infrastructure at home.

Alhawi said the UAE and Korea share a forward-looking partnership anchored in a common ambition to lead in the industries of tomorrow.

“Our investment relationship has been gaining significant momentum, propelled by the UAE’s $30 billion investment commitment in the brotherly Republic of Korea announced in 2023, and underpinned by a track record of transformative collaboration in energy, AI, and beyond - from Korea’s pivotal role in the delivery of the Barakah nuclear power plant in Abu Dhabi to its participation in the UAE’s Stargate AI data centre campus,” he said.

WAM