UAE defense and diplomacy heavyweight Obaid Al Ketbi to deliver keynote at FAMS 2026

Dr. Obaid Al Ketbi, chairman of the Dr. Obaid Group and one of the UAE's most prominent figures in defense, security, diplomacy and business, will visit South Korea to deliver a keynote at FAMS 2026, the global AI mobility summit, and to advance high-level defense and mobility cooperation.

The FAMS 2026 Organizing Committee and the Korea Herald announced Monday that Al Ketbi has been officially invited as the main keynote speaker at the FAMS 2026 Main Forum, a business forum to be held at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Seoul on June 30.

A retired general who spent 44 years in senior roles across the UAE military, government and diplomatic service, Al Ketbi has held a series of top positions: chief of logistics of the UAE Armed Forces (2006–2008); member of the Abu Dhabi Executive Council and deputy chief of Abu Dhabi Police for homeland security (2008–2014); UAE ambassador plenipotentiary to Australia and non-resident ambassador to three South Pacific nations — Vanuatu, Samoa and the Solomon Islands (2015–2018); and assistant undersecretary for defense and security at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and International Cooperation (2019–2020).

He is particularly credited with building the UAE into a global hub for defense and security innovation through his role as organizing committee chairman and spokesperson of IDEX — the International Defence Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi, the world's largest defense expo and the Middle East's premier showcase — from its founding in 1993 through 2015, a tenure of 22 years.

Al Ketbi's international service record includes leading a UAE humanitarian mission to Albania and Kosovo (1999), coordinating mine-clearance operations in Lebanon (2001) and commanding UAE forces during Iraq reconstruction efforts (2003). He has also served as a member of the World Economic Forum's International Counter-Terrorism Committee.

The organizing committee expects Al Ketbi's visit to serve as a pivotal opportunity to forge substantive technology partnerships and joint ventures between South Korea's defense industry — which is pushing hard on AI-driven defense transformation and dual-use mobility — and Middle Eastern capital and networks.

Al Ketbi will deliver his keynote under the theme "The Great Convergence of AI and Mobility: The Enormous Opportunity Facing Global Business," examining the sweeping macroeconomic shifts in industrial ecosystems that will emerge as artificial intelligence and next-generation mobility technologies converge.

Drawing on firsthand experience from global security and business environments, he plans to present a compelling vision to participants worldwide — outlining the strategic opportunities that global companies and South Korean high-tech firms should seize in this era of convergence, and laying out models for cooperation with the Middle East.

Al Ketbi holds a PhD from the University of London, where his doctoral research focused on international technology transfer and adoption in the UAE. As both a scholar and the head of a major business group, he is expected to engage in substantive discussions on dual-use technology transfer between the two countries and the establishment of global standards.

On the morning of June 30, Al Ketbi will first visit Sejong, one of South Korea's most prestigious law firms, to attend a defense industry roundtable titled "Expanding K-Defense into the UAE and the Middle East." The session will bring together leaders from defense- and mobility-related agencies, large conglomerates and specialized mid-sized companies.

At the roundtable, Al Ketbi will focus on the FAMS 2026 Organizing Committee's "Code D" vision — the convergence of defense and mobility — and discuss concrete, results-oriented plans for establishing local joint ventures that combine South Korean defense technology with UAE capital and networks, as well as technology transfer and joint market entry into the Middle East and North Africa region.

With global business and legal experts from Sejong also participating, the session is expected to lay a practical and sophisticated foundation for cooperation, covering regulatory hurdles in entering the Middle East market, legal risk management and investment structuring.

"Al Ketbi brings together the disciplined leadership of a commander, the strategic mindset of a diplomat and the insight of a global business leader," an organizing committee official said. "His roundtable at Sejong and his keynote at FAMS 2026 will serve as a powerful operational bridgehead for expanding K-defense and AI mobility across the Middle East. We will spare no effort in protocol and business coordination to ensure this becomes the starting point for major projects that propel high-tech weapons systems and dual-use mobility technology onto the global stage."