Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.uz) — Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev participated in the first Central Asia-Republic of Korea Summit in Seoul on 16 September and presented five strategic areas for further cooperation. The meeting was chaired by South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and attended by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan.
The summit discussed prospects for expanding cooperation in security, practical engagement, the economy and humanitarian exchanges.
As the first area, Mirziyoyev proposed establishing a long-term partnership horizon. He suggested developing a conceptual Vision titled “Central Asia-Republic of Korea: Partnership for Advanced Development.” The document should take into account changes related to the development of artificial intelligence, climate and water risks, as well as new requirements for education, infrastructure, technology and human capital.
He separately proposed pooling efforts to ensure the security of the digital future, including the creation of mechanisms for early detection and prevention of cyber threats.
The second area concerns trade, economic and investment cooperation. The president supported the creation of a platform for meetings between the industry and trade ministers of Central Asian countries and Korea. One of its goals will be to increase trade between the region’s countries and Korea to US$20 billion by 2030.
Uzbekistan also expressed readiness to host the Central Asia-Korea Industrial and Technology Park as an innovation and production base for the regional market. In addition, Mirziyoyev proposed developing direct contacts between the regions and businesses of Central Asian countries and Korea as part of the Third Interregional Forum, which will be held in Samarkand next year.
The third area was identified as cooperation in critical minerals. Mirziyoyev proposed creating a Regional Investment Alliance for Critical Minerals to establish processing clusters, from geological exploration and extraction to deep processing of raw materials and production of high-value-added products.
The fourth area concerns green development and adaptation to climate change. In this field, he proposed launching a Climate and Carbon Partnership between Central Asia and Korea.
The fifth area provides for joint development of human capital and unlocking the potential of young people. The president noted that people under the age of 30 account for more than half of Central Asia’s population. In this regard, he proposed establishing a long-term partnership for human capital development based on the principle of “demand-training-employment.”
Particular attention was proposed to youth participation in the development and implementation of artificial intelligence. As one of the pillars of this process, Mirziyoyev proposed using South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s “Indispensable Korea” doctrine.
At the conclusion of the summit, Uzbekistan expressed its readiness to host high-level events next year dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with South Korea and the 90th anniversary of the Korean diaspora’s residence in Central Asia.
Following the summit, the Seoul Declaration was adopted, along with a number of other documents covering priority areas of cooperation.
