(Saudi Press Agency)

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Naver Corp. is gearing up to expand its business in the Middle East, with its senior leaders advancing talks on cooperation in digital finance and artificial intelligence (AI).

According to Naver and the Saudi government on Tuesday, local time, Naver Founder and Board Chair Lee Hae-jin met Saudi Minister of Municipal and Rural Affairs and Housing Majid Al-Hogail in Riyadh to discuss collaboration across digital business sectors. Minister Al-Hogail previously visited Naver’s headquarters in Korea in 2022, where he was briefed on the company’s core technologies, including digital twins, robotics, and AI.

In contrast to his visit to Saudi Arabia last year, Lee assumed a front-line role this time, leading the discussions directly with Al-Hogail. During the memorandum of understanding signing in September of last year between Naver and the Saudi Data and AI Authority (SDAIA), Lee joined as Global Investment Officer, supporting Chief Executive Officer Choi Soo Yeon and Naver Cloud Corp. CEO Kim Yu-won. After returning to the board this year, he led the latest round of talks as head of Team Naver, the umbrella grouping of Naver affiliates focused on the Middle East.

Lee and Al-Hogail agreed to deepen cooperation on existing projects such as digital twins and broaden collaboration into new fields.

Digital currency emerged as a key agenda item.

According to the Saudi Press Agency, the two sides discussed potential cooperation in stable digital currencies tied to real estate investment and other economic sectors.

Industry insiders expect future collaboration to include fractionalizing Saudi Arabia’s large real estate holdings into security token offerings or deploying real-estate-backed stablecoins as payment instruments in smart cities.

Naver is currently moving to bolster its digital finance capabilities through a comprehensive share swap between Naver Financial Corp. and Dunamu Inc. Industry observers say the move could position Naver to enter the digital currency market in Saudi Arabia and the wider Middle East in earnest.

The two sides also explored jointly pursuing a data center development project in Saudi Arabia. One scenario under consideration is Naver taking a lead role in building data-center infrastructure within Neom City, the massive new smart city under development.

On Wednesday local time, CEO Choi attended the Korea–United Arab Emirates Business Roundtable in Abu Dhabi to discuss AI cooperation with local companies.

With major government bodies and corporations present, Choi reportedly signaled Naver’s willingness to join Korean peers in establishing an AI-focused innovation hub in the UAE.

Naver’s Middle East push is part of a wider strategy to expand its global footprint beyond its current focus on the U.S. and Japan, where its business centers mainly on online comics and its work platform Naver Works.

Given the region’s geographic proximity to Europe and Africa, gaining traction in key markets such as Saudi Arabia and the UAE could give Naver a strategic foothold for broader regional expansion, observers noted.