Uzbek president, South Korean foreign minister discuss bilateral ties, cooperation

By Burc Eruygur

ISTANBUL (AA) - Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a meeting with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin in the capital city of Tashkent, where they discussed bilateral ties and cooperation.

“Topical issues of further strengthening the Uzbek-South Korean relations of friendship and a special strategic partnership, building up full-scale cooperation, primarily in the trade, economic, investment, financial and technical fields, were discussed,” a statement by the Uzbek presidency read.

The statement highlighted the deep historical ties between the Uzbek and South Korean peoples, along with their shared mentality, traditions, and moral values.

It further emphasized the significance of maintaining political dialogue and mutual support within international organizations such as the UN and the World Trade Organization. The statement mentioned that discussions were held on current international and regional agenda items.

“Last year, trade between Uzbekistan and South Korea increased by 24 percent. The volume of assimilated investments of Korean companies exceeds $7 billion.

“The portfolio of promising projects with a total value of over $5 billion covers such areas as green energy, digital technologies, mechanical engineering, chemical industry, electrical and textile industries, infrastructure development, urban planning and many others,” the statement also said.

It added that the meeting underscored the strengthening of cooperation between Uzbekistan and leading South Korean companies, which are “important investment and technology partners of Uzbekistan.”

“Special attention is paid to the further support of the large Korean diaspora in Uzbekistan, which celebrated the 85th anniversary of living in our country last year, including the expansion of the activities of the House of Korean Culture and Art in Tashkent,” it concluded.​​​​​​​