Saudi Gazette JEDDAH — "Kingdom and Korea have developed strong ties during the last 54 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1962. During the period of 1970s and 1980s, our bilateral relations were mostly built in the field of economic, mainly in construction and energy," said Korea Consul General Nak-Young Oh during a reception held to celebrate 4,349th National Foundation Day at Crowne Plaza Hotel on Thursday. Nak-Young Oh received Jamal Abu Al Khoyour, deputy director general and director of protocol department of Ministry of Foreign Affairs Makkah Region branch, and other guests. Nak-Young Oh welcomed the guests and expressed his gratitude to the attendees for celebrating the National Foundation Day along with them. He said: "The world has witnessed drastic changes that affected global trends. The economic downturn and its serious consequences have left no country unscathed. Saudi Arabia is changing from its previous development model to more sustainable one under Kingdom Vision 2030. Korea is also going through a transformative drive towards a sustainable economy." "In this light, Korea is ready to cooperate with Saudi Arabia under strategic partnerships in a wide range of areas that will help to deliver mutual development and friendship of two nations." "Korean technologically advanced companies are ready to further cooperate with Saudi partners in various fields, not only in constructions and energy, but in health and medical services, ICT, clean energy, environment, science and technology, food security and safety. Some flagship investment projects have already commenced in housing, environment and shipbuilding, along with continued Saudi investments in Korean companies." Nak-Young Oh conveyed his gratitude to Custodian of the Two Holy Mosques King Salman, Saudi government and citizens for their warm hospitality extended to the Korean community and consulate general. Korea President Park Guen-hye visited Saudi Arabia in March 2015 where five agreements were made, most prominent of which was the construction of the Kingdom's first nuclear reactors. In May this year, Korea Prime Minister Hwang kyo-Ahn visited Saudi Arabia where a MOUs in political consultation, the fight against crime and investment attraction were signed. In 2016 the bilateral trade volume was around $30-40 billion (SR 112.2 billion- SR 149.6 billion). According to Saudi general authority of statistics, the total trade volume between Korea and Saudi Arabia between 2005-2015 has reached $351.6 (SR1.315 trillion).
