Samsung Electronics Vice Chairman Lee Jae-yong met with Crown Prince

Mohammed bin Salman of Saudi Arabia on Tuesday (local time) during his visit to the Middle Eastern nation. The meeting came three months after a previous one in Seoul in June.

According to Saudi Press Agency, the two discussed investment opportunities in Saudi Arabia in the fields of technology, industry, construction, energy, smart cities and other business opportunities for cooperation between the Kingdom and Samsung Group.

The crown prince is known as the de-facto ruler of Saudi Arabia on behalf of his aging father. He announced the Vision 2030 aimed at reforming his country’s oil-dependent economic structure and promoting the private sector economy. He is leading the country’s large-scale construction projects and information technology businesses.

Crown Prince Mohammed showed off his close ties with Lee when he visited Seoul in June. Lee invited him to Samsung’s guesthouse for a tea time, along with heads of South Korea’s top-five business conglomerates. After the gathering, Lee and the crown prince had about an hour of talks in private. The two reportedly discussed business opportunities for Samsung, including the building of the fifth-generation telecommunication infrastructure and smart cities.

Lee, who departed for the Middle Eastern country last Saturday, visited a metro construction site in Riyadh, to check the project carried out by Samsung C&T Corp. and cheer up employees.

In February, Lee also met the United Arab Emirates’ Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi Sheikh Mohammed bin Zayed bin Sultan Al-Nahyan in the UAE capital and Seoul.


Hyoun-Soo Kim kimhs@donga.com