The top diplomats of South Korea and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) will hold talks over bilateral cooperation in Seoul this week, the foreign ministry said Thursday, as the two countries mark the 40th anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic ties.

Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha and her UAE counterpart, Sheikh Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan, are set to meet Friday. The UAE's minister arrived here Thursday for a three-day visit.

The planned talks come as the two countries have been stepping up cooperation in various areas, including the handling of the new coronavirus, health care, nuclear energy and agriculture.

"At the planned meeting, which will be their first face-to-face talks in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, the two ministers will assess the four decades since the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations and ways to develop the two countries' special strategic partnership," Kim In-chul, ministry spokesman, told a regular press briefing.

At Friday's talks, Kang and the UAE minister are also expected to discuss cooperation over the UAE's hosting of the Expo 2020 Dubai, which will begin in October next year due to the coronavirus.

In recent months, the two countries have been closely cooperating in the fight against the coronavirus outbreaks. In March, South Korea shipped 51,000 coronavirus sampling kits to the UAE in emergency exports that underscored Seoul's support for the UAE's anti-virus efforts. (Yonhap)