There's been an Asia theme in recent days when it comes to visits hosted by the leader of Saudi Arabia.
The prime ministers of Singapore and Malaysia, as well as the president of South Korea, have all recently spent time in the Saudi Kingdom.
Singapore and Saudi Arabia are elevating their ties to a “strategic partnership.” That diplomatic phrasing is sufficiently vague to include various projects — likely involving more trade and investment.
That was a common thread in top level discussions with several Asian nations, as Saudi Arabia hosted the latest meeting of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations-Gulf Cooperation Council at the end of last week.
After a meeting with the prime minister of Malaysia, a similarly vague joint statement mentioned “expansion of mutually beneficial co-operation across all fields.”
More specifics were attached to the state visit of the president of South Korea, including 46 business deals relating to energy, manufacturing, real estate and technology.
One is a $500 million plan for Hyundai Motors to open its first assembly plant in Saudi Arabia.
About 30% of ownership goes to Hyundai and 70% goes to Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund.
Two other companies in the Hyundai Group signed a $2.4 billion deal to build a gas processing plant in eastern Saudi Arabia.
Additionally, South Korea's presidential office said on Monday that the two countries are working on a “large-scale defense collaboration” including weapons sales.
