Cheong Wa Dae said on the 11th that President Lee Jae-myung will preside over the "1st Korea–Central Asia summit" to be held in Seoul on the 16th.
The meeting, to be held from the 14th to the 16th, is the first multilateral summit our government has held with countries in Central Asia. Leaders from five countries—Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan—will take part.
At this meeting, Lee plans to upgrade to the leaders' level the Minister-level cooperation framework that has continued since the launch of the "Korea–Central Asia cooperation forum" in 2007. He also plans to present a mid- to long-term cooperation vision through the "Seoul declaration."
The government aims to diversify global supply chains by linking Central Asia's abundant critical minerals and energy resources with Korea's exploration and processing technologies.
It also plans to expand local market entry and contract opportunities for our corporations through cooperation on customs, regulations and intellectual property, and through country-specific, tailored cooperation in infrastructure and plant sectors.
It also plans to secure Central Asian countries' support on Korean Peninsula issues and strengthen cooperation in responding to transnational crimes such as terrorism, narcotics and cybercrime.
Meanwhile, after the summit, Lee will attend the "Korea–Central Asia business summit" with the five leaders. More than 500 government and corporations representatives from each country will gather to build networks and pursue practical cooperation by sector. That evening, an official dinner will be held, inviting the leaders and domestic and foreign guests.
Chief spokesperson Kang Yu-jung said, "We aim to expand Korea–Central Asia cooperation—which has so far focused on resources and infrastructure—into advanced and eco-friendly fields such as AI, digital, science and technology, climate change response, water resources management and disaster response, to lay a new growth foundation for the next 30 years."