South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) have agreed to jointly pursue nuclear energy exports to third countries, while Seoul is also poised to take part in the UAE’s ambitious sovereign AI initiative, spearheaded by OpenAI.
During South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to Abu Dhabi, the capital of the UAE, the two countries issued a joint declaration to deepen cooperation across key strategic areas, including national defense, Korean pop culture, medical services and biotechnology.
“Building on the success of the Barakah Nuclear Energy Plant, both countries will jointly pursue third-country nuclear projects,” the joint declaration stated. “Cooperation will include fuel supply, maintenance, AI-based efficiency optimization and workforce development.”
In 2009, South Korea built four APR-1400 nuclear reactors in Barakah near Abu Dhabi in cooperation with the Emirates Nuclear Energy Corporation (ENEC), marking South Korea’s first nuclear power plant export.
PARTICIPATION IN STARGATE UAE PROJECT
According to their joint agreement, South Korea will participate in the Stargate UAE project, the first international deployment of OpenAI’s AI infrastructure platform Stargate.
“South Korean companies are expected to take part as priority partners in the project, of which the initial phase alone involves $20 billion in investment,” Ha Jung-woo, South Korea’s presidential secretary for future AI strategy, said during a media briefing following the summit between the two countries.
The Stargate project aims to build a vast cluster of AI data centers across the UAE, in coordination with the US government. It involves G42, Oracle, NVIDIA, Cisco and SoftBank, according to OpenAI.
South Korean firms could be considered for key roles, including the development of advanced power infrastructure to support the initiative.
NATIONAL DEFENSE
The agreements on nuclear energy exports and AI cooperation were among seven memoranda of understanding signed during the summit.
South Korean Chief Presidential Secretary Kang Hoon-sik said that the agreements also pave the way for South Korean companies to participate in building out the UAE’s broader defense infrastructure.
“The two countries will work together to establish a higher level of collaboration even beyond sales of weapons, including joint development, technology cooperation and local production,” he noted during the briefing.
“This will increase the likelihood of South Korean defense firms winning contracts in defense export projects.”
South Korea is understood to be in ongoing discussions with the UAE over the export of K9 self-propelled howitzers and the Cheongung-II surface-to-air missile system.
The presidential office estimates the defense export market in the UAE at over $15 billion.
K-CULTURE, SPACE
The two countries have also agreed to harness the rising popularity of Korean culture across the Middle East, while working to position the UAE as a regional hub for culture and tourism.
“The UAE has also expressed strong interest in South Korea’s proposal to establish a new type of integrated cluster, tentatively named ‘UAE K-City,’ which would encompass advanced industries, technology, healthcare, aerospace and defense, all built on an AI foundation,” Kang said.
Seoul estimates the potential K-culture market in the Middle East at $70.4 billion.
The two countries have also been deepening their cooperation in the space industry with joint satellite development programs.
Their joint declaration highlights the Etihad-SAT Radar Satellite in the UAE, developed in partnership with Korea’s space technology company Satrec Initiative in 2025, as the latest milestone in their bilateral space sector collaboration.
The satellite follows DubaiSat-1 and DubaiSat-2 launched into orbit in 2018, the first satellites designed by the UAE. They involved technology transfers by Satrec Initiative.
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