South Korean President Moon Jae-in and Qatar's Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani signed a deal on Monday to strengthen ties in maritime affairs, including fishery and aquaculture, media reports said.
The Qatari emir arrived in Seoul on Sunday for a two-day official visit.
Qatar is hoping to ease its dependence on foreign countries for food supply. In the deal signed Monday, the two countries agreed to exchange technologies and carry out joint research to facilitate that goal, South Korea's Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries said.
The agreement will also pave way for employment of South Korean experts in Qatari shipping companies, and help South Korean companies expand their presence in the Qatari market, the ministry added.
"Although the exchanges in the maritime industry are in the early stages compared with traditional areas like energy and construction, we plan to promptly roll out follow-up measures to help competitive South Korean firms and experts set eyes on the overseas markets," Korea's Ocean Minister Kim Young-choon was quoted as saying.
Korea Customs Service also signed an initial agreement with its Qatari counterpart on cooperation in the field of training and capacity building. The memorandum of understanding also calls for bilateral cooperation on international crime and illegal narcotics and weapons trafficking, the customs service said.
