South Korea has agreed to partner with the United Arab Emirates on the U.S.-backed Stargate project — a massive AI data centre campus set to become the world’s largest outside the United States. The agreement follows a summit in Abu Dhabi between South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and UAE President Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan.
Seoul confirmed it will support the development of computing power and energy infrastructure for the project, reinforcing its ambition to position itself as a regional AI hub. The move aligns with President Lee’s national strategy to accelerate AI investment at a time when global economic uncertainty and U.S. trade pressures challenge South Korea’s growth trajectory.
Samsung Electronics and SK Hynix — two of the world’s leading memory chipmakers — have already signed preliminary deals (as of October) to supply advanced memory chips to OpenAI’s Stargate data centres. South Korea will also assist in building a diversified power grid, incorporating nuclear power, natural gas, and renewable energy sources to support the facility.
Under a new strategic framework agreement, the UAE and South Korea will expand cooperation across AI research, infrastructure, supply chains, and investment—strengthening bilateral ties and accelerating both nations’ AI development agendas.
