RIYADH: Saudi Minister of Municipal, Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail met South Korea’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure and Transport Won Hee-ryong in Riyadh on Thursday, as the two countries seek to fortify cooperation in smart city planning and housing. During the meeting, also attended by Deputy Minister of MoMRAH Abdullah bin Mohammed Al-Budair and other senior officials, “the two sides reviewed the frameworks for enhancing bilateral cooperation between the two countries in the municipal and housing sectors and the fields of smart cities,” a ministry statement said. The importance of continuing work according to the terms of the executive program signed between the two parties in early January in Riyadh was reiterated, and the pair reviewed joint projects between their respective ministries and exchanged information on several new projects supervised by the MoMRAH. They also discussed the opportunities for South Korea to participate in the “Cityscape Global” exhibition in Riyadh from Sept. 10–13. Korean real estate companies were invited to participate in order to further development in the Middle East. The two sides also reviewed the progress made by the working group in the digital sphere, on areas including chatGPT, cloud services, and maps, which was established following the signing of the memorandum of understanding between the two parties. Al-Hogail praised the remarkable development of relations between the two countries in all fields, and the benefits reflected in the establishment of alliances and strategic partnerships between Riyadh and Seoul. He expressed his wish to continue exchanging experiences and expertise between the two parties in order to achieve their common interests. In December last year, Al-Hogail met Hee-ryong as part of his Asian tour that began in Seoul, and the two ministers discussed frameworks for enhancing cooperation in the municipal, housing and smart city sectors, and the importance of the exchange of experiences in a way that would serve the two countries. The ministers also inaugurated the first Saudi-Korean Housing Cooperation Forum during the tour. Al-Hogail expressed hope that the forum would help both sides develop a common understanding of their national visions, government policies, infrastructure and municipal projects.