President Lee Jae Myung and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman have agreed in a phone call to further strengthen cooperation between the two countries.

Presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said in a written briefing on Wednesday that in the first phone call with the Saudi crown prince since Lee took office, the president noted the close cooperation between the two nations as future-oriented strategic partners.

The spokesperson said the two leaders observed that bilateral cooperation has expanded beyond the traditional sectors of energy and construction to manufacturing, defense, cutting-edge technologies and other areas.

Kang said the two leaders agreed to further strengthen cooperation based on the longtime trust between their countries.

Lee reportedly expressed interest in working closely with Saudi Arabia to strengthen and develop future strategic industries, noting that South Korea is one of the main partner nations for the realization of Saudi Arabia’s Vision 2030 for economic diversification.