(3rd LD) Park hold talks with Saudi Arabia's new king
(ATTN: UPDATES with Park's attire at welcoming ceremony in 10th para)
By Kim Kwang-tae
RIYADH, March 3 (Yonhap) -- South Korean President Park Geun-hye met with Saudi Arabia's newly enthroned King Salman on Tuesday as Seoul is seeking to forge a wide-range of economic cooperation with its biggest trading partner in the Middle East.
The meeting is the first since Salman inherited the throne of the oil-rich kingdom following the death of his brother and king, Abdullah, in January. Park met with then Saudi Crown Prince Salman on the sidelines of a summit of the Group of 20 advanced and emerging economies in Brisbane, Australia, in November.
Park plans to discuss with Salman cooperation in nuclear reactors, health care and information and communication technology, beyond construction, according to her office.
Saudi Arabia is the largest supplier of crude oil to South Korea and is the largest market for South Korean builders.
Park and Salman observed the signing of a memorandum of understanding calling for a joint partnership on a nuclear reactor, a move Seoul says could help its companies win a US$2 billion project to build two mid-size commercial reactors in the kingdom.
The reactor with a power output of 100 megawatts is designed to be smaller, cheaper and easier to operate than conventional reactors. It can be connected to a desalination plant to provide large quantities of fresh drinking water.
The move came as Saudi Arabia is pushing to develop nuclear reactors to meet its growing energy needs. The kingdom plans to build up to 18 nuclear reactors by 2040.
South Korea -- which relies on 23 nuclear reactors for one-third of its energy needs -- has emerged as a new export powerhouse of nuclear power plants in recent years.
In 2009, a South Korean consortium won a US$20.4 billion project to build four light water nuclear reactors in the United Arab Emirates by 2020 in South Korea's first export of nuclear reactors.
Park did not wear a headscarf when she was greeted by King Salman and other royals at a welcoming ceremony at the airport. Still, she dressed conservatively, in a dark navy suit in the conservative Muslim country where women must cover their heads.
Park was to meet with Crown Prince Muqrin bin Abdulaziz al-Saud, Salman's youngest brother, and Deputy Crown Prince Mohammed bin Nayef al-Saud as part of efforts to build trust with the ruling family.
Saudi Arabia is the second stop on Park's four-nation swing that will take her to the United Arab Emirates and Qatar.
In Kuwait, Park held talks with Kuwait's emir, Sheikh Sabah Al Ahmad Al Sabah, and sought his interest and assistance to ensure that South Korean companies can participate in industrial and infrastructure projects in the oil-rich country.
Park's Mideast tour comes as oil-rich regional countries are seeking to diversify their economic portfolios ahead of the inevitable advent of a post-oil era. A plunge in oil prices in recent months has also highlighted the need to diversify those economies that are heavily dependent on oil.
entropy@yna.co.kr
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