President Lee Myung-bak and Emir Sheikh Hamad bin Khalifa al-Thani of Qatar have agreed to establish a bilateral, high-level strategic cooperation council.

The two leaders reached the agreement during a summit on Thursday.

Lee and the Qatari leader agreed to expand their countries' cooperation beyond the field of energy to include scientific research, defense, sports, and green growth.

Lee and the emir agreed to review the results of the strategic council’s meetings every three or six months. They also agreed to establish a hot line to actively address contentious issues if their countries feel the council has hit a snag in its meetings.

South Korea is hoping to take part in projects on building railroads and infrastructure for Qatar’s 2022 World Cup. Qatar’s government plans to spend around 70 billion dollars in building World Cup-related infrastructure.

The emir told Lee he hopes South Korea will transform Qatar, a desert nation, into a true industrial and advanced country.