ID :
358701
Mon, 03/02/2015 - 02:09
Auther :

Park to hold talks with Kuwait emir on boosting economic ties

By Kim Kwang-tae KUWAIT CITY, March 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye was to hold talks with Kuwaiti Emir Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Sabah on Monday on the first leg of a four-nation Mideast tour expected to focus on wide-ranging economic cooperation beyond energy and construction. The two leaders are expected to discuss how to deepen cooperation in the fields of health care and communication technology, as well as energy and construction, according to Park's office. The summit will follow Park's two separate meetings with Kuwait's prime minister and parliamentary speaker. The trip, which will also take Park to Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates and Qatar, comes as Seoul is pushing to capitalize on the "second Middle East boom" as a new growth engine for South Korea's export-dependent economy. South Korea hopes that its companies can participate in big industrial and infrastructure projects being pushed by Middle East countries as they seek to diversify their economic portfolios ahead of the inevitable advent of a post-oil era amid a recent plunge in crude prices. Park described Middle East countries as perfect partners for South Korea as they are pushing for development in various fields, including energy and health care. "There are many things that our various companies can cooperate" with their counterparts in the region, Park told reporters traveling aboard Air Force One to Kuwait. Oil-rich Middle Eastern countries have long been a major source of revenues for South Korean builders for decades, which in turn has helped the Asian nation cope with economic difficulties. Health care has emerged as a new promising area of cooperation between South Korea and Middle East countries. Last month, a specialist hospital managed by Seoul National University Hospital, one of South Korea's top medical centers, opened in the UAE. The opening ceremony of the Sheikh Khalifa Specialist Hospital came eight months after the South Korean hospital was selected as the consignment manager of the largest specialist hospital in the Middle East for five years. It marked the first time that a South Korean hospital has won a consignment contract with a foreign hospital. entropy@yna.co.kr (END)

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