Address by the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev at the First “Central Asia – Republic of Korea” Summit

Dear Mr. Lee Jae Myung!

Dear Heads of Delegations!

It gives me great pleasure to be in the beautiful city of Seoul once again. Every visit to this remarkable metropolis leaves a deep impression on me with its dynamic development and distinctive character.

I join the words of gratitude addressed to His Excellency Mr. Lee Jae Myung, President of the Republic of Korea, for the excellent organization of the inaugural “Central Asia – Republic of Korea” Summit and warm hospitality extended to all of us.

I fully share the views expressed on the importance of this unique platform for advancing cooperation.

As early as 2007, the Republic of Korea, demonstrating remarkable strategic foresight, was among the first to recognize the enormous potential of Central Asia for close and mutually beneficial partnership.

Relations between our countries are built on the principles of equality and mutual respect. The aims of our cooperation are exclusively open, pragmatic and constructive.

We sincerely appreciate the significant contribution of the Korean side to the industrialization of our countries, the modernization of infrastructure, and the creation of a solid foundation for sustainable development.

Uzbekistan firmly supports your course, Honorable Mr. President, toward establishing peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.

The roots of our strong ties go back centuries, originating from the caravan routes of the Great Silk Road.

This firm friendship is based not only on mutual interest but also on spiritual and moral affinity.

Our peoples share the same basic life values: deep respect for the older generation, a cult of honest labor, and love and devotion to their native land.

A bright symbol of solidarity and mutual sympathy between our peoples is the Korean diaspora, which has become an integral part of the multinational family of Central Asia.

Distinguished participants of the summit,

Today, our key objective is not merely to maintain the momentum of cooperation that we have achieved, but to build on these accomplishments as a solid foundation for taking our partnership to a qualitatively new level.

Despite the global turbulence affecting international markets, Central Asia continues to demonstrate robust economic growth of over 6 percent.

The region’s combined GDP has surpassed 500 billion US dollars.

With a population of more than 80 million, our countries are steadily transforming Central Asia into a “region of stability” and a “hub of global connectivity” across Eurasia.

The Republic of Korea, for its part, is a global leader in advanced technologies, innovation and knowledge-intensive industries.

I am confident that bringing together these significant and complementary potentials will open new horizons for building a strong, mutually beneficial partnership.

Dear colleagues!

Supporting all your initiatives voiced today, I would like to put forward proposals in five strategic areas of cooperation.

The first covers the formation of a long-term planning horizon for our partnership.

In today's world, the speed of global change increasingly outpaces the ability of states to adapt to them. Artificial intelligence is transforming the labor market and entire industries. Climate and water risks require solutions for decades to come. New demands are emerging for education, infrastructure, technology, and human capital.

Under these conditions, the ability to deeply understand the course of events, timely identify emerging development opportunities, and create conditions for their realization becomes very important.

In response to these challenges, we propose to develop a long-term conceptual Vision: “Central Asia - Republic of Korea: Partnership for Accelerated Development”.

Its main goal is to determine in advance what competencies, industries, infrastructure, personnel, and specialists our countries will need in the future.

For the practical implementation of the objectives set out in this Vision, we consider it important to establish a Portfolio of Accelerated Development Projects.

It should include breakthrough initiatives capable of generating new sources of growth and creating long-term opportunities for our countries.

A key focus of our joint efforts should also be ensuring the security of the digital future.

We consider it critically important to pool our efforts in developing mechanisms for the early detection and prevention of cyber threats.

Through such cooperation, our partnership will be guided by a unified strategic approach and the priorities of tomorrow.

The second area is aimed at bringing our trade, economic and investment potential into a unified business logic.

Today, Central Asia is no longer merely a supplier of raw materials. Our countries are becoming increasingly integrated into global value chains, expanding opportunities for innovation and technological cooperation.

With production facilities located outside major trade-risk zones and rapidly growing demand, our region can become an indispensable partner for the Republic of Korea in Eurasia.

We fully support the initiative to establish a platform for meetings of ministers responsible for industry and trade. The establishment of this coordination mechanism will enable us to jointly identify effective solutions for significantly increasing mutual trade.

It is important to take effective measures to eliminate barriers, simplify certification procedures, and ensure mutual access to products on local trading platforms.

I am confident that these steps will allow us to achieve the ambitious but quite achievable goal of bringing the trade turnover of our region's countries with Korea to 20 billion US dollars by 2030.

Within the framework of increasing industrial cooperation and investment cooperation, we are ready to host the "Central Asia – Korea" Industrial and Technological Park in Uzbekistan.

It can serve as an innovative and production base for the regional market.

It is proposed to direct joint efforts toward the production of auto components, electrical engineering, mechanical engineering products, and the pharmaceutical and chemical industries.

In addition, we consider the establishment of direct partnerships between the regions of our countries to be an important driver of economic cooperation.

We would be glad to see representatives of regional authorities and business from all countries next year in Samarkand at the Third Interregional Forum of Central Asia and Korea.

The third area of cooperation should open a new chapter in our engagement in the field of critical minerals. It presents a unique convergence of the strategic interests of Central Asia and the Republic of Korea.

Given the rapidly growing global demand for these valuable resources, and the region’s vast reserves of critical minerals, Central Asia has the potential to become one of the world’s leading suppliers.

Korea’s advanced technologies and capital can play a decisive role in unlocking this potential.

In this regard, we propose establishing a Regional Investment Alliance for Critical Minerals.

This initiative is intended to create strong processing clusters across the region, covering the entire value chain – from geological exploration and extraction to the deep processing of raw materials and the production of high value-added goods.

The fourth area of our cooperation stems from the need to advance green development and strengthen climate change adaptation.

Under the Paris Agreement, Korea is committed to implementing climate projects overseas, while our region is ready to provide favorable conditions and serve as a reliable platform for green investment.

To bring these opportunities together, we propose launching a Climate and Carbon Partnership between Central Asia and Korea.

We welcome the joint initiative on climate action, energy transition and air quality.

We believe that it will facilitate the transfer of Korean technologies and contribute to the successful transition of Central Asian countries towards a circular and low-carbon economy.

The fifth area is of fundamental importance - joint work to unlock the potential of the younger generation.

Central Asia is a region of special demographic energy, where young people under the age of 30 make up more than half of the population. It is the younger generation that will determine the competitiveness of our countries.

We are facing a growing demand for specialists in engineering, technology, and digital fields.

It is fundamentally important for us that the younger generation becomes a part of the modern technological economy, gaining access to advanced knowledge, competencies, and international experience.

In this regard, we propose establishing a long-term Partnership in Human Capital Development.

It should be based on a clear principle: "order – preparation – employment."

We see the prospect of directly linking the personnel needs of Korean businesses with the educational potential of our region.

Such an approach will pave the way for the professional future of many young talents and will ensure the training of highly qualified specialists for our joint projects.

The role of our young people is especially in demand in the joint development and deployment of artificial intelligence, and in creating an integrated technological base and competencies in the region.

We propose to make President Lee Jae Myung’s doctrine of an “Indispensable Korea” one of the key pillars of this large-scale process in Central Asia.

Dear friends!

I am confident that through our joint efforts we will be able to expand our cooperation, enrich it with new projects, and unlock significant potential for the benefit of our countries and peoples.

In conclusion, I would like to emphasize that Uzbekistan is ready to hold, at the highest level, next year’s festive events dedicated to the 35th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea and the 90th anniversary of the Korean diaspora’s presence in our region.