Presidential Chief of Staff Kang Hoon-sik, visiting the United Arab Emirates as President Lee Jae-myung's special envoy for strategic economic cooperation, met with UAE President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan and delivered a personal letter from President Lee.
"I paid a courtesy call on President Mohamed in the late afternoon and successfully delivered President Lee's letter containing his vision for strengthening Korea-UAE cooperation," Kang wrote on Facebook on Sunday.
Kang also held working-level discussions and a dinner meeting with Khaldoon Khalifa Al Mubarak, Chairman of Abu Dhabi Executive Affairs Authority.
"We had scheduled a two-hour meeting with 'Brother Khaldoon,' which is unusually long for diplomatic engagements, to discuss follow-up measures from the previous summit and preparations for the UAE President's visit to Korea. But we ended up going past three hours," Kang said. "New tasks and ideas kept coming up."
President Lee made a state visit to the UAE in November last year, discussing cooperation in defense, artificial intelligence, and energy sectors. Al Mubarak subsequently visited Korea last month to discuss follow-up measures.
"After sunset, I had dinner with Chairman Khaldoon," Kang said. "The Ramadan evening meal 'Iftar' is a time to share food and affection with family, neighbors, and close ones."
He added that Iftar "reflects the values of patience, moderation, harmony, and community, making it one of the warmest moments in Islamic culture."
Kang noted that he brought "Dujjeonku" (Dubai Chewy Cookie) and traditional Korean confections as gifts after learning that guests invited to Iftar customarily bring sweet desserts. "Although it has 'Dubai' in the name, it's distinctly a K-dessert. It's already generating buzz locally under the name 'Korea Chewy Cookie,' so the gift was well received," he said. "On every trip, I benefit from our culture and food."
Kang departed for the UAE on January 24 and returns home Sunday after completing his three-day, one-night schedule.