UAE And Korea Advance Joint Data-Centre Expansion Plans

South Korea’s technology ambitions moved beyond its borders again on 18 November 2025 as Seoul agreed to join the United Arab Emirates’ “Stargate” project—an expansive AI-infrastructure initiative aimed at building one of the largest data-centre ecosystems in the Middle East. Reuters confirmed that the partnership includes shared compute development, grid-integration planning, and cooperation across AI applications for public and private sectors.

For South Korea, the project aligns with national objectives to secure global leadership in artificial intelligence and advanced semiconductor technologies. Korean chipmakers and cloud-service providers view the Gulf as an increasingly important market: abundant renewable energy, capital availability, and rapid digitalisation make the region a natural fit for large-scale compute infrastructure. The partnership offers Korea not just export gains, but also a deeper strategic foothold in a region investing aggressively in next-generation technologies.

The UAE’s Stargate programme aims to develop a cluster of high-density data centres powered by low-carbon electricity, supporting AI-training models, autonomous-system development, digital-government platforms, and enterprise cloud services. Korean firms will provide hardware design, semiconductor integration expertise, cooling-system innovation, and AI-software engineering.

The geopolitical layer is equally important. As the global race for compute capacity intensifies, countries are looking to build cross-border alliances for energy-efficient AI infrastructure. The UAE wants to diversify beyond traditional hydrocarbons and build a central position in global data flows. Korea wants to expand its technology influence while reducing over-reliance on specific markets in North America and East Asia. The partnership is therefore both economic and strategic.

The collaboration also strengthens supply-chain diversification. Korean data-centre firms, often constrained by domestic land availability and electricity-grid limits, benefit from the UAE’s abundant land and access to renewable energy. Meanwhile, the UAE gains credibility by partnering with one of the world’s most advanced semiconductor and electronics ecosystems.

On the domestic front, Korea’s participation in projects like Stargate supports its long-term industrial policy, which aims to create more global Korean champions in cloud services, AI engineering, and chip-design. The initiative can also stimulate private-sector R&D collaboration and workforce training.

For investors, the Korea-UAE partnership signals a broader trend: compute is becoming the new oil of global economics. Countries with energy resources, capital, and logistics hubs are aligning with those that have technological depth. The Stargate project sits at the intersection of these forces.

South Korea’s decision to join the initiative is not just a bilateral technology project—it is a strategic move in a world where data infrastructure defines competitive advantage.