Two South Korean students have been enrolled at the United Arab Emirates' Petroleum Institute, marking the start of a joint training programme that seeks to create new business opportunities for the two countries, Yonhap News quoted Tuesday the South Korean government as saying.
The two students will be the first South Koreans to study at the Petroleum Institute under an agreement signed in May, in which the countries agreed to jointly develop human resources for their energy sectors, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
They will begin postgraduate programmes from the fall semester with the U.A.E. school shouldering all of their expenses, including tuition and living costs.
Under a separate agreement signed in the same month, South Korea's Seoul National University will accept U.A.E. students from the 2015 school year.
The ministry said it expected about 10 students from South Korea to be enrolled in the U.A.E. school next year.
The two countries have been strengthening their energy cooperation since 2009 when they signed a US$20 billion agreement for the construction of four South Korean nuclear reactors in the U.A.E. .
South Korean Energy Minister Yoon Sang-jick has said Seoul was also expected to be awarded a contract, worth an additional $20 billion, for the operation and management of the U.A.E. reactors.
The programme is for training engineers and experts for the U.A.E. reactors, but it also aims to seek new joint business opportunities for the two countries in other Middle Eastern countries.
"Once the two students finish their study, they will either find work in the U.A.E. or a third country, playing the role of a bridge between South Korea and the Middle Eastern country," said the ministry