On the 18th, South Korean Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jung-kwan held a meeting in Seoul with UAE Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology Sultan Al Jaber, who is also CEO of ADNOC, to discuss ways to expand industrial cooperation in follow-up to last month’s summit between the two countries. The meeting was held during Al Jaber’s visit to Korea and covered key cooperation issues such as AI data center collaboration, joint oil stockpiling, and cooperation in the oil and gas industry.
In particular, follow-up discussions were held regarding the ‘Stargate UAE’ project, agreed upon during the summit, to build a next-generation ultra-large AI data center in the UAE. The project involves G42 in building a 5GW-scale AI computing cluster, with participation from OpenAI and Oracle, and plans to launch a 200MW cluster in the first phase next year. Minister Kim emphasized that South Korea’s strengths in semiconductors, data center construction and operation, EPC, and power generation can significantly contribute to the UAE’s AI infrastructure development.
Both ministers acknowledged that the joint oil stockpiling project initiated in 2013 has served as a successful model of energy cooperation. South Korea expects to enhance emergency oil supply capabilities through preferential purchase rights, while the UAE views the project as a strategic foothold for responding to Northeast Asian oil demand. Both sides agreed to discuss expanding the scale of joint stockpiling to strengthen energy supply chains.
They also shared the view that oil and gas trade and investment are central to bilateral economic cooperation. Minister Kim noted that Korea National Oil Corporation and GS Energy are successfully executing upstream oil development projects with ADNOC, and that large-scale cooperation projects are underway in downstream sectors such as plants, petrochemicals, and shipbuilding. The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy assessed the meeting as a key step in turning summit outcomes into concrete cooperation and plans to continue expanding strategic industrial collaboration through high-level channels.