Uzbekistan and South Korea: a key milestone in the strategic partnership

In recent years, Uzbekistan’s foreign economic policy has focused primarily on elevating cooperation beyond conventional trade relations to a long-term partnership based on high technologies, investment, industrial cooperation, and human capital.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev's state visit to the Republic of Korea became a practical manifestation of this approach. The negotiations held in Seoul, the joint business forum, and the first Central Asia – Republic of Korea Summit provided an opportunity not only to review the current results of cooperation between the two countries but also to identify new priorities for the decades ahead.

The significance of the visit can be explained, first and foremost, by the steadily expanding scale of economic cooperation in recent years. Today, more than 700 joint ventures with South Korean investment are operating in Uzbekistan.

These figures demonstrate that relations between the two partner and friendly countries have gone beyond diplomatic ties and have developed into a tangible economic partnership across industry, energy, automotive manufacturing, healthcare, education, technology, and other sectors.

A new dimension of cooperation

During the negotiations in Seoul between President Shavkat Mirziyoyev and President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae Myung, key issues in bilateral cooperation were discussed. One aspect is particularly important: at this new stage, the focus is not merely on increasing trade volumes or implementing individual investment projects. The main objective is to combine South Korea’s advanced technologies, investment, and management expertise with Uzbekistan’s natural resources, domestic market, production capabilities, and human capital.

The formation of a portfolio of promising projects worth nearly $12 billion during the visit demonstrates the practical scale of this approach. The adoption of a Strategic Cooperation Program with the Export-Import Bank of Korea also provides an important foundation for financing and implementing these projects.

A key aspect of cooperation is the growing focus on high-tech sectors. Artificial intelligence, information technology and cybersecurity, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, industry, and other innovative areas are emerging as new directions for future cooperation.

Such an approach marks an important shift for Uzbekistan’s economy. Priority is being given not merely to investment itself, but to the technologies, new production culture, specialized training, and the integration of local enterprises into global value chains that accompany investment.

A new area of economic opportunities

Another important event during the visit was the first Central Asia – Republic of Korea Summit, held in Seoul on September 16. Uzbekistan was joined by the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan.

The summit suggests a new format for regional cooperation is taking shape. Combining Central Asian countries’ markets, resources, transport potential, and young populations with South Korea’s technological, investment, and innovation capabilities can yield distinct economic benefits.

At the summit, our President put forward initiatives in five strategic areas to make effective use of these opportunities. These initiatives are particularly important for strengthening cooperation among the countries, fully leveraging existing potential, and achieving long-term objectives.

The first initiative concerns long-term planning. Today, changes in the global economy are unfolding rapidly. Artificial intelligence is affecting the labor market, climate change and water resource challenges are intensifying, and demand for technology and human capital is evolving.

Against this backdrop, our President proposed developing a long-term conceptual vision titled “Central Asia – Republic of Korea: Cooperation for Accelerated Development”. This initiative is significant because it offers an opportunity to plan cooperation not around individual projects, but around shared strategic objectives. Issues such as cybersecurity, artificial intelligence, education, infrastructure, and climate would become integral components of this strategy.

The second initiative is to expand trade and investment. Today, Central Asia is no longer merely a supplier of raw materials. The countries of the region are steadily expanding their processing, industrial cooperation, and high-value-added production capacities.

For this reason, the Head of State proposed creating a platform for meetings of industry and trade ministers. The objective is to coordinate economic cooperation among the countries and translate existing opportunities into concrete projects. One key target is to increase trade between the Central Asian countries and South Korea to $20 billion by 2030. Uzbekistan’s readiness to establish the Central Asia – Korea Industrial and Technology Park is also an important part of this process. Such a park could serve as a base for innovative production serving the regional market.

The third initiative focuses on the deep processing of critical minerals. As modern technologies continue to advance, demand for these minerals is rising. Central Asia has substantial reserves of these minerals. In this context, our President proposed establishing a Regional Investment Alliance for Critical Minerals.

The main objective is not simply to extract and export raw materials. The aim is to create a complete industrial chain that encompasses geological exploration, extraction, processing, and the manufacture of finished products. If this approach is fully implemented, it will lay the groundwork for new industrial clusters, investment projects, and jobs across the region.

The fourth initiative concerns green development. Climate change is increasingly a shared challenge not for any single country but for the entire region. For this reason, it was proposed to launch a new format for climate and carbon cooperation by combining the capabilities of Central Asia and South Korea. This area could open up new opportunities for projects in energy efficiency, environmental technologies, renewable energy sources, and climate change adaptation.

The fifth initiative focuses on youth and human capital. It is no coincidence that one of the summit’s key areas was human capital. More than half of Central Asia’s population is under 30, representing significant potential. However, to translate this potential into economic results, young people need to be equipped with modern knowledge and skills, engaged in technology-related sectors, and trained to meet labor market needs.

To this end, it was proposed to establish long-term cooperation in human capital development based on the “demand – training – employment” principle. In particular, harnessing the potential of young people in joint development and introduction of artificial intelligence technologies could become an important area of cooperation in the coming years.

The Seoul Declaration, adopted at the conclusion of the summit, will serve as a common framework for developing cooperation between Central Asia and South Korea in a new and broader format. In this sense, the state visit to the Republic of Korea and the Seoul Summit are opening new opportunities for Uzbekistan not only to attract new investment but also to modernize the economy technologically, strengthen regional industrial cooperation, and equip young people with modern knowledge and skills.

At the next stage, the key task is to turn the agreements reached into concrete projects, new production facilities, modern technologies, qualified personnel, and tangible results that improve the well-being of the population.

Aktam KHAITOV,

Head of the UzLiDeP Faction in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis