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On the occasion of the 60th anniversary of diplomatic ties between Korea and Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince and Prime Minister Mohammed bin Salman, who actually rules Saudi Arabia, visited Korea.

President Yoon Seok-yeol welcomed Crown Prince Bin Salman as the first foreign guest at his official residence in Hannam-dong, Seoul.

The two countries agreed to expand cooperation in the fields of energy, defense, and infrastructure construction.



Today (17th), the first news, reporter Choi Go-woon, will deliver.



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[President Yoon Seok-yeol: Welcome.] President



Yoon Seok-yeol greets Crown Prince Bin Salman as he enters the Hannam-dong official residence with a smile.



This is the first foreign guest we met 10 days after moving into the official residence.



President Yoon held an extended meeting for 40 minutes with Crown Prince bin Salman, who was on an official visit to Korea, and chatted for 40 minutes while walking around the garden together.



At the meeting, President Yoon assessed that Saudi Arabia is the largest trading partner in the Middle East and a key partner in economic and energy security, and that now is the right time to take a leap forward in bilateral relations.



[President Yoon Seok-yeol: As the Crown Prince is opening up a new future for Saudi Arabia through Saudi Arabia's 'Vision 2030', I think it is the right time for the relationship between the two countries to take a leap into a new relationship.]



'Vision 2030' is about diversifying industries in preparation for the post-oil era. This is a large-scale national project that Saudi Arabia is pushing for.



President Yoon said that he expects to expand and develop cooperation between the two countries, especially through investment cooperation in new growth areas and participation in mega projects such as 'NEOM City', a super-large new city.



Crown Prince bin Salman responded by saying that Korean companies have greatly contributed to the development of Saudi Arabia's infrastructure, and that he would like to drastically strengthen cooperation with Korea by pointing out three areas: energy, defense industry, and infrastructure and construction.



At 0:30 this morning, Prime Minister Han Duk-soo personally greeted Crown Prince Bin Salman, who arrived in Korea by private plane, and invited President Yoon as the first foreign guest at the official residence and even paid attention to seeing off.



(Video coverage: Lee Yong · Choi Dae-woong, video editing: Choi Jin-hwa)