1st multilateral summit elevates Korea-Central Asia cooperation to leaders' level
Summary
Korea’s first multilateral summit with the five Central Asian countries elevated cooperation with the region to the leaders’ level in Seoul on Wednesday. President Lee Jae Myung hosted the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. A Central Asia expert said the move helps institutionalize cooperation amid global competition over supply chains, energy, markets and technology. Lee and the expert both said bilateral talks remain important alongside the new multilateral framework.
Key Facts
- The Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum has maintained cooperation at the ministerial level since 2007.
- Kim Sang-cheol said China, Japan and European countries have already expanded their engagement with the five Central Asian countries.
- Lee held separate summits with the five leaders from Monday through Wednesday before the multilateral meeting.
- Turkmenistan has vast natural gas reserves and seeks to diversify export routes, while Kazakhstan is rich in oil and other resources and has reached a more advanced stage of industrialization.
- Uzbekistan is accelerating industrialization and is seeking cooperation in manufacturing, information technology, artificial intelligence and agricultural machinery.
Cooperation in energy and critical minerals requires both multilateral and bilateral approaches: expert
President Lee Jae Myung and the leaders of five Central Asian countries hold hands during the Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul, Wednesday. From left are Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Tajikistan President Emomali Rahmon, Kazakhstan President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Lee, Kyrgyzstan President Sadyr Japarov and Turkmenistan President Serdar Berdimuhamedov. Yonhap
Korea’s first multilateral summit with the five Central Asian countries marks an important step toward institutionalizing cooperation with the resource-rich region at the highest political level, reflecting its growing strategic importance amid intensifying global competition over supply chains, a Central Asia expert said Wednesday.
The evaluation comes as the inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit, hosted by President Lee Jae Myung in Seoul, brought together the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, elevating a cooperation framework that has been maintained at the ministerial level since the Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum was launched in 2007 to the leaders' level.
Opening the summit, Lee said the world is undergoing a major transformation in which economic and security issues are increasingly intertwined across supply chains, energy, markets and technology.
“The ‘Silk Road spirit’ of Central Asia, which connected people, technology and culture between East and West, is more necessary than ever,” Lee said.
"The strengths of Korea and Central Asia will give us infinite opportunities to solve challenges together. When the cooperation expands beyond individual countries to the regional level, the future of shared prosperity will be accelerated," he said, expressing hope that the summit would serve as “an important milestone for new advancements.”
President Lee Jae Myung speaks during the inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit at a hotel in Seoul, Wednesday, with the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan attending. Yonhap
Kim Sang-cheol, a research professor at Hankuk University of Foreign Studies' Institute of Central Asian Studies, said the multilateral summit is vital in setting a common direction for Korea's engagement with the five countries, while bilateral talks remain essential for addressing their differing economic needs, resources and development priorities.
"Korea is not the only country looking toward Central Asia. The whole world is paying attention to the region," Kim said, noting that China, Japan and European countries have already established or expanded their own engagement with the five countries.
Kim said bringing the mechanism to the leaders’ level could help translate agreements into concrete projects by establishing political consensus at the top.
"If consensus is established among the leaders themselves, it becomes much easier for both Korea and the Central Asian countries to carry projects forward because they are based on agreements between presidents," Kim said.
Economic cooperation, particularly in energy and critical minerals, also illustrates why Korea needs both multilateral and bilateral approaches, according to Kim.
Lee held separate summits with the leaders of the five countries from Monday through Wednesday, ahead of the multilateral meeting.
The talks included efforts to link Central Asia's abundant natural resources with Korea's technologies and expertise in exploration, development and processing, as Seoul seeks to diversify critical mineral and energy supply chains.
“The multilateral framework can set the overall direction of cooperation, while bilateral talks remain essential because the five countries have markedly different resources, industrial structures and levels of economic development,” Kim said.
Turkmenistan has vast natural gas reserves and is seeking to diversify export routes, while Kazakhstan is rich in oil and other resources and has reached a more advanced stage of industrialization, Kim explained.
Uzbekistan, meanwhile, is accelerating industrialization and is looking for cooperation in areas ranging from manufacturing to information technology, artificial intelligence and agricultural machinery.
The professor went on to explain that Central Asia's importance to Korea extends beyond the five countries themselves because of the region's economic and geographic connections with Russia, Iran and the wider Eurasian market.
“This makes the region potentially important as Korea seeks to diversify its economic links and expand its presence across Eurasia,” Kim said. "Central Asia could serve as a forward base for Korea as it looks beyond its traditional markets in East Asia."
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