South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to launch an expansive new partnership centered on artificial intelligence (AI), outlining multi-billion-dollar initiatives that Seoul says will anchor both countries in the next era of technological transformation. The announcement came as senior Korean officials briefed reporters on the outcomes of President Lee Jae-myung’s state visit to Abu Dhabi and the work of a special delegation sent ahead of the summit.

According to Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik and Senior Secretary for AI Future Planning Ha Jung-woo, AI formed the core of the two countries’ new “Special Strategic Partnership,” with Seoul and Abu Dhabi committing to long-term cooperation that will remain stable regardless of political changes. Officials announced a jointly developed Strategic AI Cooperation Framework, signed by Korea’s National AI Strategy Committee and the UAE’s Artificial Intelligence and Advanced Technologies Council, marking the deepest formal AI partnership the two countries have established to date.

Under the agreement, cooperation will expand beyond traditional tech exchanges into AI infrastructure, energy systems, semiconductor supply chains, robotics, and AI-enabled public services. Korea will formally join the UAE’s massive “Stargate Project,” an AI and energy megaproject valued at 30 trillion won. The plan includes building large-scale AI data centers powered by a diversified energy grid combining nuclear, gas, and renewables—an effort officials say will anchor stable AI operations for both nations.

Korea and the UAE also announced a flagship “AI Port Logistics Project,” applying physical AI and robotics to port operations in Busan and Abu Dhabi’s Khalifa Port. The pilot aims to radically increase efficiency and position both countries as leaders in next-generation maritime logistics.

Working groups across AI infrastructure, semiconductors, robotics, and public-sector applications will be launched before the end of the year to deliver rapid, tangible progress.

The AI-centered agenda is woven into broader economic and security cooperation—ranging from defense co-development and energy partnerships to the creation of an AI-driven “UAE K-City”—but Korean officials emphasized that artificial intelligence is the engine powering this new phase of bilateral ties.

With an estimated $20 billion in AI-related initiatives, Seoul says the partnership marks the beginning of a long-term, technology-driven alliance designed to reshape both countries’ positions in the global economy.

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