South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) are moving to strengthen strategic cooperation across the artificial intelligence (AI) sector, ranging from AI infrastructure and semiconductors to AI models and services.
The Ministry of Science and ICT, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, and the National AI Strategy Committee announced on May 13 that they had jointly hosted the “Korea-UAE AI Infrastructure and Semiconductor Investment Forum” at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas.
Following the UAE state visit in November 2025, the two countries formed a joint working group involving government agencies and private companies to discuss collaboration across the AI ecosystem, including infrastructure, models, and services. The latest forum was organized to turn those discussions into tangible outcomes.
The event was attended by 25 key officials and representatives, including Mohamed Al Hawi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Investment, as well as executives from major UAE institutions such as state-backed AI firm Core42, investment company MGX, government R&D organizations ATRC and TII, Mubadala, and the Abu Dhabi Investment Office.
During high-level talks, vice ministers from both countries agreed on the need to establish a strategic partnership to strengthen AI ecosystems amid intensifying global competition in the AI industry.
A subsequent panel discussion focused on cooperation measures such as developing and operating low-power, high-efficiency AI infrastructure linked to AI semiconductors including neural processing units (NPUs), as well as creating and testing specialized AI services based on native-language AI models.
Korean companies also presented their technologies and business models in investment sessions divided into AI semiconductors, infrastructure, and AI technologies.
The Korean government said it plans to continue follow-up discussions so the forum can lead to visible achievements, including complementary technological development and joint expansion into overseas markets.
Ryu Je-myung, Second Vice Minister of Science and ICT, said, “By combining Korea's competitiveness in the AI ecosystem with the UAE's investment capabilities and strategic advantages, we will develop practical cooperation models that can deliver tangible outcomes, including low-power, high-efficiency AI data center demonstrations and participation in the UAE Stargate AI data center campus project.”
Song Sang-hoon, head of the support team for the National AI Strategy Committee, said, “Despite global uncertainties, the two countries have maintained close communication through the Korea-UAE AI Cooperation Task Force centered around the committee. We will continue supporting follow-up discussions so that the cooperation agenda discussed at the forum can develop into concrete investments and projects.”
Mohamed Al Hawi, Undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Investment, emphasized, “Cooperation between the UAE and South Korea has gained strong momentum following the UAE's announcement in 2023 of a $30 billion investment partnership with Korea. This visit will serve as an important opportunity to expand bilateral cooperation across the entire AI value chain.”
