Trade ministers from Qatar and South Korea have agreed to expand cooperation in advanced industries, placing a strong emphasis on manufacturing artificial intelligence (AI), AI semiconductors, and biohealth, South Korea’s Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said on Wednesday.

During talks in Seoul, Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with his Qatari counterpart Ahmed bin Mohammed Al-Sayed to discuss ways to strengthen economic ties and investment collaboration. The meeting was a follow-up to a presidential envoy’s visit to Qatar on April 13.

The two countries already maintain close energy ties, with South Korea importing Qatari natural gas and Korean firms involved in major infrastructure projects in Qatar.

The countries looked at ways to combine South Korea’s manufacturing strengths with Qatari capital, as Doha seeks to diversify its economy beyond oil and gas.

The two nations discussed potential cooperation in AI-driven manufacturing transformation (AX) and robotics, with Seoul introducing its M.AX Alliance, launched to drive manufacturing innovation through AI and flagging South Korean AI companies as potential investment targets.

Yeo also pointed to expanding opportunities in biohealth and semiconductors, highlighting the potential of South Korean fabless companies developing low-power, high-performance chips for AI applications, and the growing presence of Korean healthcare and pharmaceutical firms in Qatar.

Energy cooperation also featured in the talks. Yeo commended Qatar’s resilience amid the ongoing conflict in the Middle East.

“Going forward, we will continue to strengthen energy security based on our strategic partnership with Qatar while steadily expanding the scope of bilateral economic cooperation into future industries, such as manufacturing AI and biotechnology,” Yeo said.

Both sides agreed to share information on companies of interest and continue consultations.

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