South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT, the National AI Strategy Committee and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy held the Korea-UAE AI Infrastructure and Semiconductor Investment Forum at the Grand InterContinental Seoul Parnas, the ministry said on May 13.

The forum was arranged to turn into tangible outcomes the discussions on cooperation in AI infrastructure, models and services by a bilateral government-private working group formed following the UAE's state visit in November 2025.

The UAE delegation included 25 key figures, including Investment Ministry Vice Minister Mohammed Al Hawi, as well as representatives from state-run AI companies Core42 and MGX, government R&D bodies ATRC and TII, and investment institutions Mubadala and the Abu Dhabi Investment Authority. Abdullah Saif Al Nuaimi, the UAE ambassador to South Korea, also attended.

In a high-level meeting, the two sides' vice ministers shared the view that strategic cooperation is needed to develop the AI ecosystem. A subsequent high-level panel discussion covered cooperation plans including building and operating low-power, high-efficiency AI infrastructure linked to AI semiconductors such as NPUs, and developing and testing specialised services based on native-language AI models.

In an afternoon session, South Korean companies will present investment plans by sector, including AI semiconductors, infrastructure and AI technology. They will also discuss detailed investment cooperation through business briefings, business matching and networking programmes.

The government plans to ensure the forum leads to visible results such as bilateral technology cooperation and joint entry into overseas markets, rather than a one-off exchange.

Ryu Je-myung (류제명), second vice minister at the Ministry of Science and ICT, said AI competitiveness comes from the strength of the entire AI ecosystem, where AI semiconductors, data centres, models and services are organically connected. He said he would flesh out practical cooperation models, including demonstrations of low-power, high-efficiency AI data centres and participation in the UAE's Stargate AI data centre campus project.

Kim Seong-yeol (김성열), head of the Industrial Growth Office at the industry ministry, said he would identify practical cooperation opportunities by combining the UAE's strategic investment capabilities with South Korea's capabilities in AI semiconductors, data centres and manufacturing.

Song Sang-hoon (송상훈), head of the support group at the National AI Strategy Committee, said the forum was meaningful as the first fruit of past cooperation. He stressed he would support follow-up discussions together with relevant ministries.

Mohammed Al Hawi, vice minister at the UAE Investment Ministry, said cooperation between the two countries has gained strong momentum following the UAE's announced plan in 2023 for $30 billion in investment cooperation with South Korea. He said the visit would be an important opportunity to expand cooperation across the AI value chain.