(News Focus) Lee seeks to expand economic ties with Global South nations amid shifting trade order
ANKARA, Nov. 25 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung used his four-nation swing, including his attendance at the Group of 20 (G20) summit in South Africa, as a way to expand economic ties with Global South nations amid a changing world trade order.
Lee was set to wrap up his multination trip to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Egypt and Turkey, undertaken on the occasion of the G20 summit in Johannesburg, where he sought to strengthen economic cooperation in defense, nuclear energy, infrastructure and cultural industries.
The G20 meeting marked the final leg of his multilateral diplomacy this year, following his attendance at the Group of Seven summit, the U.N. General Assembly, the Association of Southeast Asian Nations summit and South Korea's hosting the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation summit.
During the G20 summit, he called for revitalizing the World Trade Organization's multilateral trading system, strengthening joint efforts to address climate change and ensuring more equitable access to artificial intelligence (AI) technologies.
Lee also underlined the need to build a stable and mutually beneficial supply chain for critical minerals, amid uncertainty stemming from escalating trade tensions between the United States and China over rare earth minerals.
The presidential office said Lee's attendance at the G20 broadened the scope of his "pragmatic" diplomacy centered on national interests into the Global South, a term broadly referring to developing economies located in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean.
In his trips to the UAE, Egypt and Turkey, Lee explored ways to deepen economic ties with countries crucial for trade, energy security and other areas of cooperation.
"The Middle East is part of an important pillar of our diplomacy, and the three nations I visited this time are key states in the region," Lee told reporters Monday en route to Ankara. "There are many new opportunities to explore in areas such as the defense industry, trade and investment, and various other fields of cooperation, and our existing partnerships with the countries need to be strengthened."
In Abu Dhabi, Lee and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan oversaw the signing of seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs) in advanced industries, including AI, nuclear energy, aerospace and health care.
A key outcome was a framework agreement on strategic AI cooperation for the UAE's Stargate project, an AI data-center cluster in Abu Dhabi. The initial global investment of the major AI infrastructure project is at around 30 trillion won (US$20.5 billion), and a 200-megawatt facility is set to come online next year.
The two leaders also discussed ways to pursue joint weapons development, production and sales in third markets, taking a step further from the arms exports. The presidential office estimated the potential economic benefit at about $15 billion.
Building on the bilateral cooperation at the Barakah nuclear power plant in the UAE, they also agreed to jointly explore opportunities in future nuclear energy export markets.
In Ankara, Lee and Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan agreed to expand cooperation in defense, nuclear energy and other sectors, hoping to push for more joint projects following Turkey's Altay main battle tank program based on South Korea's K2 technology.
During the summit, the two countries signed an MOU on nuclear energy cooperation, paving the way for South Korea's bid to secure Turkey's upcoming project to build its second nuclear power plant in Sinop on the Black Sea coast.
In Cairo, Lee and Egyptian President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi discussed ways to collaborate on large-scale infrastructure projects, including reconstruction efforts in the Gaza Strip and the Cairo International Airport's expansion project, estimated at over $2 billion.
There, Lee unveiled the "SHINE" initiative, which stands for stability, harmony, innovation, network and education, designed to deepen South Korea's engagement in the Middle East and support long-term regional cooperation.
ejkim@yna.co.kr
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