Saudi Arabia and South Korea have signed a bilateral agreement for cooperation in the development and use of atomic energy for peaceful purposes.

The agreement provides the framework for working together on establishing a legal framework for scientific, technological and economic cooperation between the two nations.

The agreement was signed by Hashim bin Abdullah Yamani, president of King Abdullah City for Atomic and Renewable Energy (KA-Care) and Kim Sung-Hwan, South Korea’s Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade in Seoul.

KA-Care was established by royal decree in April 2010 to create a sustainable energy mix, including the use of nuclear and renewable energy.

South Korea generates roughly 40 per cent of its energy needs from nuclear power and a South Korean-led consortium was selected by Abu Dhabi to build the Gulf’s first nuclear power project in 2009.