South Korea's Lee, Saudi Crown Prince MBS vow to deepen ties in 1st phone call

By Anadolu staff

ANKARA (AA) -South Korea's President Lee Jae Myung and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have agreed to deepen bilateral cooperation in their first telephonic conversation on Wednesday, Lee's office said.

Lee expressed Seoul's desire to collaborate with Riyadh in their efforts to strengthen and develop their future strategic industries, according to a statement posted on South Korea's president's account on the US social media company X.

The two sides observed that the bilateral cooperation has expanded beyond the traditional sectors of energy and construction to manufacturing, defense, cutting-edge technologies, and other areas.

Lee, who was inaugurated in June, said he also gained "deep insights and inspiration" from Saudi Arabia's "Vision 2030" during the phone call.

They agreed to meet in the future and continue close consultations about ways to develop the bilateral relationship.

Riyadh and Seoul established ties in 1962, and the bilateral trade grew to around $38 billion last year.

*Writing by Aamir Latif