Prevention of quarantine in the Omicron pandemic… Concerned about the unstable situation in the Middle East
Unsuccessful meeting with the crown prince of the UAE, the Saudi crown prince arrives at the airport and welcomes… Last minute ‘K-9 tug of war’ in Egypt
On the 21st (local time), President Moon Jae-in concludes his 8-day, 6-night visit to the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt, which is his last overseas trip.
There are still 108 days left until the end of his term, but considering the political schedule such as the presidential election, it seems unlikely that he will go on a tour again after that unless there are special circumstances.
In particular, it has been said that this tour is a tour with many variables even before departure amid the global pandemic of COVID-19 omicron mutation.
Although the Blue House applied strict quarantine measures, such as controlling individual activities outside the troupe, nevertheless, the schedule had to be digested with a nervous mind, not knowing when the shield might be broken.
Schedules were often changed abruptly.
This is very unusual in normal diplomacy.
First of all, the summit meeting between President Moon and UAE Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, scheduled for the 17th, was abruptly canceled the day before.
A key official at the Blue House said, “The UAE has been politely asking for understanding.”
This official also revealed that one of the reasons the UAE has been told is ‘unforeseen and urgent matter of state’.
Some speculate that the cancellation of the schedule is related to the local Corona 19 situation, but the official replied only, “I know that (UAE) did not disclose it accurately.”
Conversely, when President Moon visited from Saudi Arabia, Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman came to the airport to meet President Moon himself, leading to an unexpected ‘surprise meeting’.
In response, a Saudi official explained, “It is a very special event for the Crown Prince to receive him directly, and it reflects the importance of the Korea-Saudi relationship,” Blue House spokeswoman Park Kyung-mi said.
The unstable situation in the Middle East also followed President Moon throughout the tour.
On the 17th, the UAE International Airport and oil facilities in Abu Dhabi were attacked presumably by drones.
It is about 100 km away from Dubai, where President Moon stayed, and foreign media such as AP and AFP reported that Yemeni rebels attacked the UAE.
During a phone call with Crown Prince Mohammed of the UAE on the same day, President Moon said, “This is urgent and unfortunate news.”
During the tour in Egypt, the two governments fought a tug-of-war until the last minute over the export of Korea’s proprietary self-propelled artillery, the K-9.
At first, diplomats predicted that the export of K-9s to Egypt would be confirmed with President Moon’s visit as an opportunity, but a final agreement was not reached until the Korea-Egypt summit.
During a luncheon after the summit, President Moon and Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi called Kang Eun-ho, Director of the Defense Agency, and Muhammad Morsi, Egypt’s Defense Minister, respectively, and ordered additional negotiations.
Meanwhile, on this tour, the newly introduced Air Force Unit 1 made its first flight with the President on board.
The Boeing 747-400 aircraft, which has been used as Air Force No. 1 so far, was retired after flying as a presidential plane for about 11 years and 9 months, and the newly introduced Boeing 747-8i aircraft will be responsible for the President’s tour for the next five years.
/yunhap news
