1. Vice Foreign Minister Lim Sung-nam will visit Saudi Arabia from March 4 till 6, during which he will meet with the acting Minister of Foreign Affairs and the Minister of Economy and Planning of Saudi Arabia to mull over the way forward for the Republic of Korea-Saudi relations and bilateral issues.

° The Vice Minister will be accompanied on his visit to Saudi Arabia by the Deputy Director-General for African and Middle Eastern Affairs and the Director of Middle East Division II.

2. Saudi Arabia is the ROK’s long-standing friend and top trade partner in the Middle East, with the bilateral trade volume having reached some 25 billion US dollars, the ninth largest for the ROK, in 2017. Vice Minister Lim will, in particular, extensively discuss with the Saudi side ways that the ROK can contribute to and take part in the work to fulfill Vision 2030 and other vigorous economic reform efforts currently being made by the Saudi government; as well as ways to enhance the bilateral ties in a future-oriented manner.

※ Vision 2030 is a long-term economic reform plan that Saudi Arabia has been implementing since 2016 to seek industrial diversification and less dependence on oil under the motto of “a vibrant society, a thriving economy and an ambitious nation.”

* unofficial translation