Ambassador Abdulla Khalfan Alromaithi of the United Arab Emirates (UAE) in Korea hosted a luncheon reception at Hotel Shilla in Seoul at noon on Dec. 2, 2015 to celebrate the National Day of his country.
An estimated total of over 1,000 Korean and international guests attended the gala reception from all walks of life as well as from the Seoul Diplomatic Corps (SDC) and other segments of society in Korea.
Among the Korean guests in attendance were Vice Minister Bang Moon-kyu of Health and Welfare of the Korean government and representatives from various other public organizations including the business community.

From the SDC came many ambassadors and other senior diplomats who included Ambassadors Mohammad Saleem Sayeb of Afghanistan, Derragui Mohammed Elamine of Algeria, Ramzi Teymurov of Azerbaijan, Md. Zulfiqur Rahman of Bangladesh, Dato Paduka Haji Modh Rosli Bin Haji Sabtu of Brunei Darussalam, Petar Andonov of Bulgaria, Jario Lopez of Costa Rica (Charge d’Affaires [CDA]), Grecia Fiodalicia Pichardo of Dominican Republic, Oscar Gustavo Herrera Gilbert of Ecuador, Hany Moawad Selim Labib of Egypt, Elizabeth Nicol of Ghana, Mohamed Abdi Gello of Kenya, Jasem Mohamed Albudaiwi of Kuwait, Mohammed Chraibi of Morocco, Mohamed Salim Alharthy of Oman, Zahid Nasrulah Khan of Pakistan, Irineo Raul Silvero Silvagni of Paraguay, Krzysztof Majka of Poland, Mohammed Bin Abdalla Obaid Al-Dohaimi of Qatar, Mamadou Ndiaye of Senegal, Milan Lajciak of the Slovak Republic, Gonzalo Ortiz Diaz-Tortosa of Spain, Mohamad Abdelaal of Sudan, Kiromov Salohiddin of Tajikistan (CDA), Mohamed Ali Nafti of Tunisia and Vasyl Marmazov of Ukraine.
From the mass communications media came some media representatives who included Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post, President Kim Hyung-dae of its English edition and Editor-in-Chief Mrs. Linda Yoon of its Korean-language edition. There also were many other Korean and international guests who included General Manager Bernhard Brender of Grand Hilton Hotel and President Ms. Cheon Yong-won of the Academy of Makeup Art.

The relations between Korea and the UAE have made major progress the opening of the UAE Embassy in Seoul in 1987. Currently, the relations are known to be heading to a strategic partnership to include more vital areas of mutual cooperation, especially oil, renewable energy, education, training, construction and building sectors, environment, health care, shipbuilding, transport, telecommunication and IT.
Cooperation and harmony in visions have emerged large through the role that Korea plays beside the UAE in defending human rights and humanitarian issues and through their contribution to joint non-profit projects.
The bilateral relations between the two countries are witnessing qualitative developments in all spheres thanks to the keenness on the part of the leaders of the two countries.
The UAE stands as the largest trade partner to Korea in the Middle East and North Africa. It is the second largest oil supplier to Korea.
UAE’s exports to Korea topped US$ 12.1 billion in 2010, while Korea’s exports to the UAE amounted to US$5.5 billion. Major UAE exports to Korea include crude oil, petroleum products, aluminum and LNG. Main Korean exports to the UAE include mobile phones, iron and steel structures, textiles, electronic equipment and automobiles. Korea’s investments in the UAE totaled US$ 511 million in 2010.
As a result of the expansion in joint projects, the number of Korean visitors and residents in the UAE have increased to 6200, while the number of Korean firms in the UAE reached 130. Thanks to the non-stop flights from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Seoul, the economy, trade and tourism exchanges between the two nations have witnessed a great leap.

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