Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu (R) shakes hands with Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi ahead of their talks in Seoul on Sept. 27, 2023, in this photo provided by the South Korean ministry. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Sept. 27 (Korea Bizwire) — Top industry officials of South Korea and Qatar discussed ways Wednesday to enhance bilateral cooperation on the energy and shipbuilding industries, Seoul’s industry ministry said.
During the meeting in Seoul, South Korea’s Industry Minister Bang Moon-kyu and Qatar’s Minister of State for Energy Affairs Saad Sherida Al-Kaabi discussed how to boost bilateral investment and technology exchanges regarding renewable energy use, hydrogen production and various other energy fields, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The two nations have maintained close relations based on the liquefied natural gas (LNG) trade and LNG carriers, and are pushing to deepen ties on a wider range of energy resources and related sectors.
Bang asked for the Middle Eastern nation’s support for South Korean firms seeking to take part in major energy plant construction projects and win LNG carrier contracts.
Qatar is South Korea’s No. 2 LNG supplier, accounting for around 20 percent of the country’s total LNG imports.
Last year, South Korean shipbuilders won contracts to build 54 LNG carriers.
“The two sides agreed to work more closely through high-level exchanges to draw tangible results of their energy cooperation,” the ministry said in a release.
In 2022, two-way trade hit an all-time high of US$17.1 billion, and Qatar was South Korea’s third-largest trading partner among Middle Eastern nations, government data showed.
(Yonhap)
