Korea, UAE ink over a dozen MoUs: South Korea and the UAE signed 13 MoUs yesterday, including a comprehensive energy partnership, as part of South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol’s visit to Abu Dhabi, Yonhap News Agency reports. Signed during Abu Dhabi Sustainability Week, the agreements cover the establishment of a voluntary carbon market, smart farming, and carbon capture, utilization, and storage (CCUS), according to Wam.

Korean ties with the UAE renewables sector have a history: South Korea’s Kepco was awarded the contract to build the UAE’s Barakah nuclear power plant in 2009, which recently approved its operational blueprint for 2023-2026. The South Korean government also announced its intention to import green hydrogen from the UAE by 2027 last week.

The interest in renewables is also expanding regionally: Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund (PIF) signed an agreement with Kepco and four other firms worth some USD 6.5 bn to build a hydrogen and ammonia plant last November. The country also set up an export agreement with Saudi Arabia’s Saudi Exim in December to export green hydrogen and ammonia to the Korea Trade Ins. Corporation (K-Sure) shortly before the world’s first commercial load arrived on Korean shores late in December from Saudi Aramco and Sabic Agri-Nutrients. Over in Egypt, China State Construction Engineering Corp and Korea’s SK Ecoplant are reportedly exploring the possibility of setting up a potential hub for green hydrogen projects in the country.