Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy employees headed to Saudi Arabia in ‘departure advisory’… Energy cooperation discussion

(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Bo-in = Even though the Ministry of Foreign Affairs raised the travel warning for all of Saudi Arabia to level 3 'departure advisory' on the 11th, it was found that Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy employees visited the region to strengthen energy cooperation.

On the 12th, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Kim Jeong-kwan announced the news of the employees' departure to Saudi Arabia by posting a post on social networking service (SNS) titled, 'Thank you to my colleagues who work hard to secure energy despite difficult conditions.'

Minister Kim said, "At the time the travel warning was issued, employees of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy were heading to Riyadh, Saudi Arabia." He introduced them as "Director Yang Ki-wook of the Office of Industrial Security and Resources, Secretary Kim Min-seop, and Secretary Na Hyun-bin, who has just started his public service career."

According to Minister Kim, they visited Saudi Arabia to attend the International Energy Forum (IEF) ministerial meeting and the World Petroleum Congress (WPC) and to strengthen cooperation to secure stable energy.

Minister Kim explained that Director Yang and others arrived at their destination in 26 hours after transiting through three countries - Hong Kong, Qatar, and Bahrain - due to a series of flight cancellations.

During this process, a situation arose where Secretary Na had to return home due to lack of transportation.

Saudi Arabia is experiencing chaos as fighting with Houthi rebels has intensified recently, causing damage to civil infrastructure such as airports and causing numerous casualties.

On the 10th, King Khalid International Airport in the capital Riyadh was attacked by a missile, killing 13 multinational civilians and injuring more than 300. The next day, an unidentified projectile hit the airport terminal again, killing one person and injuring 11 others.

Minister Kim said that among them, Samsung E&A and SNT Gulf officials also visited Saudi Arabia and explained, "Amidst the unstable situation and difficult travel conditions, the government and companies have headed to the site for energy cooperation."

Minister Kim said, "The Saudi side expressed special gratitude to our delegation, which visited the site under difficult circumstances, and a meeting was held with the Vice Minister for Oil and Gas of the Ministry of Energy and the Senior Vice President of Aramco, a state-owned oil company." He added, "During the meeting, we will reaffirm our commitment to stable supply of crude oil and discuss ways to cooperate in preparation for future supply and demand instability."

He added, "I would like to express my gratitude to our delegation and businesspeople who are working together and carrying out their responsibilities in an unstable situation. What is more important than anything else is safety. We will prioritize safety as the top priority for the remaining schedule and hope that everyone returns safely."