Qatar, South Korea bilateral relations 'have grown': Envoy

(MENAFN- The Peninsula) Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Qatar H E Joon-ho Lee disclosed that bilateral relations between Qatar and South Korea 'have grown'.

Speaking to The Peninsula, Ambassador Lee said that both countries have expanded the cooperation areas which traced back in 1974.

“Qatar and South Korea are friends looking in the same direction and preparing for the future together. Our countries joined hands to tackle future challenges. Climate change is the case in point,” he explained.

South Korea is one of the largest trading partners, one of the biggest liquefied natural gas (LNG) importers, and a significant investor for Qatar. In March, a Korean company won a North Field expansion project contract from Qatar Energy. 

Last July, it signed a 20-year LNG supply deal with Qatar, and just recently, QatarEnergy placed the first batch of LNG shipbuilding orders with Korean companies.

In October, Qatar's Minister for Municipality and Environment signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Global Green Growth Institute, which has its headquarter in Seoul, to boost cooperation on climate change. 

The two countries have also signed another MoU for cooperation in the field of hydrogen energy.

Ambassador Lee said the MoU has“an important role to play in the energy transition towards cleaner energy systems, healthcare, information and communication technology (ICT), e-learning, smart-farm, all these sectors have great potential for the cooperation between our two countries and some concrete projects are already in the pipeline.”

Furthermore, he said,“Qatar is already playing a global role in the energy transition as a major supplier of the cleanest fossil fuel and is taking assertive steps to reduce the greenhouse gas footprint of the LNG. Hydrogen will allow the country to take this further and contribute to the green growth and a low carbon world.”

In January 2019, Korea announced its Hydrogen Economy Roadmap, creating a comprehensive hydrogen ecosystem for“fuel cells” and“Fuel Cell Electric Vehicles” (FCEV) to accelerate its transition to becoming a global hydrogen powerhouse.

Moreover, he also acknowledged Korean companies who have participated in major infrastructure projects in the country, including the North Field expansion, Doha Metro and Lusail expressway and landmarks such as Qatar National Museum and Sheraton Hotel.

Ambassador Lee likewise noted that South Korea is expanding its economic cooperation into relatively new areas beyond energy and construction. 

“Korean investments in Qatar can diversify into various areas such as smart city, ICT, healthcare, agriculture and climate change. 

“Also, Qatari investors can find attractive investment opportunities in areas related to green energy and ICT in Korea,” he explained.

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