South Korea, UAE push AI infrastructure alliance

· UPI

May 13 (Asia Today) -- South Korea and the United Arab Emirates are moving to strengthen strategic cooperation in artificial intelligence infrastructure and semiconductors.

Government officials and business leaders from both countries gathered Wednesday in Seoul for the South Korea-UAE AI Infrastructure and Semiconductor Investment Forum.

The event was hosted by South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, the Ministry of Science and Information and Communications Technology and the Presidential Committee on National Artificial Intelligence Strategy.

The forum followed the launch of a bilateral AI cooperation working group created during a UAE state visit to South Korea in November. Officials said the meeting was designed to turn previous discussions on AI infrastructure, models and services into investment and business projects.

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A 25-member UAE delegation visited South Korea, including Mohammed Abdulrahman Alhawi, undersecretary of the UAE Ministry of Investment, officials from state-backed AI company Core42, investment firm MGX, research agencies including the Advanced Technology Research Council and the Technology Innovation Institute, Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority.

UAE Ambassador to South Korea Abdulla Saif Al Nuaimi also attended.

Officials discussed cooperation across the AI ecosystem, including low-power, high-efficiency infrastructure based on neural processing units, development of language-specific AI models and expanded testing of AI services in industrial settings.

The forum also focused on combining UAE investment in large-scale AI data centers with South Korea's strengths in semiconductors and data center operations.

The possible participation of South Korean companies in the UAE's Stargate AI data center campus project was also discussed.

In the afternoon session, South Korean AI semiconductor, data center and AI solution companies introduced business models and held one-on-one consultations with UAE officials and investors.

The South Korean government said it aims to connect the forum to follow-up investment and demonstration projects.

"AI competitiveness comes from an ecosystem in which semiconductors, data centers, models and services are organically connected," said Ryu Je-myung, second vice minister of science and information and communications technology. "We will build practical cooperation models by combining South Korea's technology with the UAE's investment capacity."

Kim Sung-yeol, deputy minister for industrial growth at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, said AI competitiveness depends on both infrastructure construction and industrial application.

"We will combine the strengths of both countries and expand cooperation into the global market," Kim said.

Alhawi said the two countries' cooperation has accelerated since the UAE announced a $30 billion investment commitment to South Korea in 2023.

"We will expand cooperation across the entire AI value chain," he said.

Industry officials said the forum could serve as a test case linking Middle East expansion by South Korean AI semiconductor companies with increased UAE capital investment in South Korea's AI infrastructure.

-- Reported by Asia Today; translated by UPI

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Original Korean report: https://www.asiatoday.co.kr/kn/view.php?key=20260513010003384