Korea, Uzbekistan's reliable partner

Ambassador of Uzbekistan to Korea, Vitaliy Fen, contributed the below article on the occasion of his country's 26th Indenpendence Day. ― ED.

Vitaliy Fen, Uzbek Ambassador

The Republic of Korea is one of the most reliable and time-tested strategic partners of Uzbekistan. Cooperation between our states is consistently developing in all directions due to the regular nature of the dialogue at the highest level and common aspirations.

I especially want to note that this year our countries are widely celebrating the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. The Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea, after the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992, have become strategic partners and continue to strengthen close cooperation in all spheres. Partnership between our countries covers such spheres as trade, investment, exports and imports, fuel and energy complexes, the chemical industry, transport and logistics, the automotive industry, mining, light and the food industry, agriculture, information technologies and telecommunications, medicine, tourism, science and culture. The most-favored-nation treatment operates in the sphere of trade between our countries.

The Republic of Korea has traditionally been a leading investment and technological partner in implementation of priority programs on diversifying and modernizing industry and infrastructure in Uzbekistan. Dozens of major projects have been implemented in various sectors of the economy, attracting investments of leading South Korean companies and banks of more than 7 billion dollars.

The number of enterprises with South Korean capital in Uzbekistan is 461, including 75 with 100 percent Korean capital. These enterprises are operating mainly in the sphere of trade, oil and gas, the petrochemical and chemical industries, mining, engineering, the electrical and textile industries, information and communication technologies, transport and logistics, and tourism among others.

Further strengthening of cooperation between the two countries is facilitated by consistently developing cultural and humanitarian ties. Higher education institutions of Uzbekistan are cooperating with more than 30 universities of South Korea. Departments of the Uzbek language have been established in the South Korean universities of foreign languages Daegu and Busan; the Korean language is being taught in the Uzbekistan State University of World Languages, the Tashkent State Institute of Oriental Studies and the Samarkand State Institute of Foreign Languages. The successful activity of Inha University in Tashkent is a vivid example of the prospects for partnership in the sphere of education.

Close ties have been established at the municipal level, within the framework of which there are arrangements on cooperation between Tashkent and Seoul, Fergana and Yongin, Namangan and Seongnam, Samarkand and Gyeongju, and the Tashkent region and North Gyeongsang Province.

The Republic of Korea is one of the leaders in the field of the introduction of e-government, as ranked every two years by the U.N. About 50 years ago, having begun to implement relevant projects, South Korea simultaneously carried out administrative reforms and the modernization of public administration, which was the guarantor of the effectiveness of the e-government system. This “smart government” strategy is currently being implemented in the Republic of Korea. We are interested in developing cooperation in this sphere.

Taking this opportunity, I would like to sincerely congratulate the peoples of Uzbekistan and South Korea on the 25th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. Our countries can be proud of the development dynamics of bilateral relations. I hope for their further strengthening and expansion in the future.