The navy chief will be meeting his Qatari and Saudi counterparts to discuss strategies to strengthen bilateral military ties

South Korea’s Chief of Naval Operations Admiral Yang Young-mo is set to carry out a two-nation tour of Qatar and Saudi Arabia this week.

In a report published by the Korea Times on Sunday, Adm. Young-mo’s tour of the two Gulf countries aims to “strengthen military ties.”

This will mark his first visit to Qatar and Saudi Arabia, beginning today and ending on Friday, Al Jazeera reported.

Adm. Young-mo’s ongoing tour follows last week’s tour of the two Gulf countries by First Vice Foreign Minister Kim Hong-kyun.

While on the Qatar leg of the tour, Hong-kyun met Minister of State for International Cooperation Lolwah bint Rashid Al Khater.

On July 19, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs reported that both sides discussed bolstering economic and technological cooperation, as well as the developments in the besieged Gaza Strip and occupied Palestinian territories.

Since the two officials’ meeting, the Gaza Health Ministry reported that the death toll since October 7 in the enclave has risen to 38,983 people killed and 89,727 wounded.

Follow up visit

South Korean media reported Hong-kyun’s visit as a “follow-up” to President Yoon Suk Yeol’s tour of Qatar and Saudi Arabia last October.

During his previous visit to the Gulf countries, President Yoon separately met Qatar’s Amir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman. Both meetings covered bilateral cooperation, especially in the trade and financial sectors.

In Doha, various memorandums of understanding were inked between the two governments.

The memoranda encompassed cooperation in the field of national geospatial information, cooperation in the fields of smart construction, building technology, infrastructure and building development and smart agriculture.

While in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia and South Korea signed memoranda of understanding worth $15.6 billion, covering the sectors of crude oil, hydrogen energy, statistics, food and medical products.