SEOUL,— South Korea’s senior presidential secretary for artificial intelligence, Ha Jung-woo, said Wednesday that cooperation with the United Arab Emirates in the artificial intelligence AI sector could move faster once the conflict in the Middle East comes to an end.

Ha said during a press conference that both countries expect broader joint work in the future.

He said the UAE is seeking to strengthen its defence capabilities as tensions continue across the region.

Ha told reporters that cooperation with the UAE may grow faster, creating multiple opportunities for joint work.

He said the current situation in the Middle East remains complex but contacts between the two sides have continued despite what he described as a very difficult environment.

In November 2025, South Korea agreed to work with the UAE on the U.S.-backed Stargate project, which plans to build a large artificial intelligence data campus in the Gulf state.

Officials said South Korea will assist in building computing capacity and energy infrastructure for what is expected to be the largest group of AI data centres outside the United States.

The agreement followed a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.

South Korea has said it will also help build a power grid for the Stargate project. The system will use nuclear power, natural gas and renewable energy.

Cooperation between the two countries is also expected to expand in areas such as investment, infrastructure, supply chains and research in the AI sector.

South Korea is home to major chipmakers Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix.

The government aims to develop the country into a regional AI hub as President Lee pushes investment in artificial intelligence to support economic growth amid uncertainty linked to U.S. tariffs.

(With files from Reuters)

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