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About

Afkār is a publication of the Middle East Council on Global Affairs, providing short-form analyses, insights, and perspectives on regional issues and developments from the Council's experts and outside contributors. Afkār is published in English and Arabic, and is edited by Omar H. Rahman.
Contact us at afkar@mecouncil.org.

Elliott Ahn

Distinguished Professor at the Graduate School of AI Policy and Strategy at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST)

Bio

Elliott Ahn is Distinguished Professor at the Graduate School of AI Policy and Strategy at the Gwangju Institute of Science and Technology (GIST) and an Expert Board Member of Azerbaijan’s ASAN AI Hub, where he advises on public-sector AI adoption and procurement. He is also Executive Director and Head of Korea and Japan Deep Tech at Antler IBEX. He previously spent about twenty years in cross-border M&A and corporate venture capital at KPMG, Hyundai Motor Group, SK Telecom and Nissan.

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Articles

Gulf States Should Shift from Buyers to Builders in East Asia AI Partnerships
As Saudi Arabia and the UAE deepen technology ties with South Korea and Japan, the objective should be to move beyond buying and testing foreign technology. Gulf governments should use their capital, industrial demand, and market access to secure a stake in the products they help develop, and the revenues those products generate abroad.
Elliott Ahn

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