The government has laid the groundwork for South Korea to advance into the seawater desalination plant market of the United Arab Emirates.

The Finance Ministry said Tuesday that it held the fifth joint economic committee meeting with the UAE in Abu Dhabi on Monday, where the two sides agreed to hold talks on the joint study and installation of a low-energy seawater desalination plant in the UAE. They also agreed to hold a joint steering committee meeting regarding water resources.

The governments, public agencies and water-related companies of the two countries will continue talks to discuss cooperation on policies, underground water, smart water management and desalination.

The Seoul government has also agreed to hold related dialogue on South Korea and the UAE's joint venture into a high-speed railway project linking Malaysia and Singapore. 

A South Korean delegation comprising 43 officials from a dozen agencies led by Finance Minister Yoo Il-ho attended the latest economic meeting with the UAE, while 60 officials from the  Arab nation took part including Minister of Economy Sultan bin Saeed Al Mansoori.

Seoul's Finance Ministry noted the UAE is one of the largest markets for building seawater desalination plants as the country plans to install the facility with an investment of some 40 billion dollars by 2020.