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By Na Jeong-ju
Staff Reporter
President Lee Myung-bak arrived in Astana, capital of Kazakhstan, Tuesday for a summit with President Nursultan Nazarbayev today on ways to boost bilateral economic cooperation.
The visit is a part of Lee's five-day trip to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan, Korea's two largest trade partners in Central Asia.
Before departing for Astana, Lee toured Samarkand, Uzbekistan's second largest city that was formally the capital of the Timurid Dynasty (1369-1508) and the center of the Silk Road, along with President Islam Karimov.
``Lee's visit to Samarkand had a symbolic meaning that Korea, which has strong cultural and historical ties with Central Asia, is determined to open a new era of cooperation with the region,'' Cheong Wa Dae spokesman Lee Dong-kwan said.
President Lee also attended a farewell luncheon hosted by President Karimov, in which Lee reaffirmed his pledge to help boost strategic partnership between Korea and Uzbekistan based on strong economic ties.
At the Lee-Karimov summit in the Uzbek capital of Tashkent on Monday, the two nations signed a string of accords to jointly develop oil and gas reserves in the country. Korea's state-run and private energy developers will invest in the project.
Lee also proposed a venture to build a ``New Silk Road,'' modernizing Uzbek's logistics and railway networks using Korea's leading information technology.
The CEO-turned-President's ``energy diplomacy'' is continuing in Kazakhstan, Cheong Wa Dae officials said.
Korea and Kazakhstan are expected to sign an agreement to offer Korean firms the right to explore the Jambil maritime oil block in the Caspian Sea. Korea will agree to provide funds and necessary technologies to build a power plant near Balkhash Lake, the officials said.
``The leaders of South Korea and Kazakhstan will discuss various measures to boost economic and cultural ties, including joint energy projects,'' an official said on condition of anonymity.
Lee will return home Thursday after participating in a forum between Korean and Kazakh businesspeople, and meeting with Kazakh citizens of Korean ancestry as well as Korean residents.
jj@koreatimes.co.kr
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