The Abu Dhabi Chamber of Commerce has signed a cooperation agreement with its South Korean counterpart, state media reported today. According to the official Emirates News Agency, the deal between the chamber and the Korea Federation of Small and Medium Business specifies that the two entities will: help one another arrange visits and virtual meetings provide market research on the United Arab Emirates and South Korea organize economic and trade seminars Why it matters: The UAE and South Korea are major trade partners already. The UAE is the second-biggest oil exporter to South Korea and the second-largest importer of South Korean products in the Middle East, the chamber’s vice chairman Ali Saeed bin Harmal Al Dhaheri told the Emirates News Agency.
The UAE exported $5.27 billion in goods to South Korea and imported $393 billion from the Asian country in 2020. The top Emirati export by far was petroleum. The top South Korean export to the UAE was vehicle parts, according to the MIT-based Observatory of Economic Complexity. Know more: South Korea has been actively strengthening its relations with Middle Eastern states this year. In February, South Korea signed a $1.66 billion deal to sell tanks to the Egyptian military. In January, Saudi oil giant Aramco agreed to cooperation deals with several South Korean industrial and energy companies.