Seoul, Aug 26 (IANS) HD Hyundai, South Korea's leading shipbuilding conglomerate, said on Tuesday it has signed an initial agreement to create a joint investment programme aimed at rebuilding the US shipbuilding industry, as part of bilateral cooperation between Seoul and Washington.

The memorandum of understanding (MOU) was signed in Washington on Monday (U.S. time) by HD Hyundai, the Korea Development Bank (KDB) and U.S. investment firm Cerberus Capital, according to HD Hyundai, reports Yonhap news agency.

The signing ceremony was arranged by South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and the U.S. Department of Commerce, and it followed President Lee Jae Myung's bilateral summit with U.S. President Donald Trump in Washington.

HD Hyundai Executive Vice Chairman Chung Ki-sun attended the event with South Korean Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan and U.S. Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.

HD Hyundai said the initiative, part of the "Make American Shipbuilding Great Again" (MASGA) program first mentioned in last month's tariff deal, is designed to strengthen U.S. and allied naval capabilities, as well as marine logistics infrastructure.

The joint investment plan envisions acquiring and modernizing U.S. shipyards, supporting suppliers to reinforce the supply chain and developing advanced shipbuilding technologies such as autonomous operations and artificial intelligence (AI).

HD Hyundai said it will serve as an anchor investor and technological adviser, while Cerberus Capital will manage the program and set investment strategies.

"I believe that collaboration with Cerberus Capital will provide practical support to MASGA and open new markets and growth opportunities for the Korean shipbuilding sector," Chung said.

"We will support the modernisation of the U.S. shipbuilding industry based on our accumulated shipbuilding technology and digital capabilities."

The agreement follows several recent moves by HD Hyundai to expand shipbuilding cooperation with the United States.

In April, the company signed a strategic partnership with Huntington Ingalls Industries (HII), the largest U.S. defense shipbuilder, for joint naval ship construction.

In June, HD Hyundai partnered with Edison Chouest Offshore (ECO), a U.S.-based commercial shipbuilder, to enhance cooperation in the commercial shipbuilding sector.

Earlier this month, it secured a maintenance, repair and overhaul (MRO) project for the U.S. Navy's 41,000-ton dry cargo vessel USNS Alan Shepard.

--IANS

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