S. Korea to form task force for AI cooperation with UAE

Seoul, Nov 24 South Korea's presidential artificial intelligence (AI) committee said on Monday it will launch a task force to advance AI cooperation with the United Arab Emirates (UAE).

The task force will be headed jointly by the presidential secretary for AI policy and future planning, and vice chairman of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI), serving as a follow-up to bilateral agreements signed on the sidelines of a summit between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan last week, according to the committee.

The task force will be tasked with establishing a joint public-private implementation system to drive outcomes of the partnership with the UAE and present substantive investment projects within the year, reports Yonhap news agency.

The team will consist of five working groups, each overseen by relevant ministries, including the Ministry of Science and ICT and the Ministry of Climate, Environment and Energy.

During the Seoul-Abu Dhabi summit, the two leaders shared an understanding on the need for joint investment, development and marketing in the AI sector, and discussed ways to identify major cooperation projects that integrate the AI, energy and defence industries.

The two countries signed seven memorandums of understanding (MOUs) to expand bilateral cooperation in these sectors.

Under a framework agreement on strategic AI collaboration, South Korea will join the UAE's Stargate project to jointly develop AI and energy infrastructure.

The UAE's Stargate project aims to build a cluster of AI data centres in Abu Dhabi, beginning with a 200-megawatt facility set to come online next year as part of a planned 5-gigawatt AI campus.

Meanwhile, South Korean stocks fell for the second consecutive session on Monday amid lingering worries over artificial intelligence (AI)-related sectors. The local currency sharply declined against the U.S. dollar.

The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) lost 7.2 points, or 0.19 percent, to close at 3,846.06, following a 3.79 percent drop on Friday.

The KOSPI opened higher on foreign buying on revived hopes for a rate cut in the United States, but offshore investors turned to net sellers in the afternoon to drag down the index.

Trade volume was moderate at 363.4 million shares worth 20.3 trillion won (US$13.8 billion), with decliners outnumbering gainers 576 to 306.

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