Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — The first meeting of industry ministers from the Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea was held in Seoul on 14 September, with the sides agreeing to develop cooperation in industry, trade, technology and supply chains. Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade said.
The meeting was attended by Uzbekistan’s Minister of Investment, Industry and Trade Laziz Kudratov, South Korea’s Minister of Trade, Industry and Resources Kim Jong Gwan, and heads of relevant government agencies from Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The meeting took place ahead of the first Central Asia–Republic of Korea Summit. The new ministerial format is intended to complement political dialogue with a practical agenda and strengthen cooperation between businesses in Central Asia and South Korean companies.
Economic cooperation has already reached a significant scale. In 2025, Uzbekistan’s trade turnover with the Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea exceeded US$10 billion, rising by nearly 10%. In January–July 2026, the figure reached US$6.5 billion, up 25% from the same period a year earlier.
More than 3,000 enterprises with Korean and Central Asian capital operate in Uzbekistan. Against this backdrop, the sides intend to shift the focus from mutual supplies towards establishing new production facilities, localising manufacturing and creating regional value chains.
Uzbekistan proposed removing technical barriers and ensuring mutual recognition of certificates and test results, developing an Industrial Cooperation Programme with specific high-tech projects, creating a unified digital platform for industrial initiatives and establishing a permanent expert group at deputy minister level. All of these initiatives received support from the Korean side.
The technology-focused part of the meeting covered expanded cooperation in trade, investment, industrial infrastructure and critical minerals, as well as the introduction of artificial intelligence into manufacturing processes and workforce training.
Potential areas identified included automated quality control, predictive equipment maintenance, improved energy efficiency and production data analysis. The sides also plan to link the technological needs of Central Asian enterprises with the capabilities of Korean companies and expand professional internships for engineers and technicians.
Following the meeting, the sides signed a joint memorandum on cooperation in industry and supply chains. They also adopted a Joint Statement of the first meeting of the Consultative Mechanism of Ministers of Industry of the Republic of Korea and Central Asia.
As part of the programme, Laziz Kudratov held talks with Kim Jong Gwan. The meeting resulted in agreements to establish a Uzbek-Korean platform for the exploration and development of strategically important mineral resources and to develop export potential and trade cooperation.
