Uzbekistan seeks strong partnership with Korea

Uzbek President Islam Karimov, right, and Korean President Park Geun-hye smiles during a summit in Tashkent, Uzbekistan, in June this year.

By Bakhtiyor Ibragimov

It is a high privilege for me to address today the esteemed readers of The Korea Times on the occasion of the 23rd Anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence.

The foundation of bilateral relations between our states was laid on December 30, 1991, when the Republic of Korea was among the first countries to recognize Uzbekistan’s independence. Subsequently, diplomatic relations were established on January 29, 1992. Ever since, our countries have been engaged in vigorous political dialogue, the intensity of close cooperation can be manifested by the fact that over the past 22 years there have been 13 summit meetings between our heads of state.

Within a short period of time, our countries have gained enormous experience in mutually beneficial cooperation in the political, trade-economic, investment and cultural-humanitarian areas that serve as a solid foundation for the further implementation of long-term joint projects between Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea in all these spheres. In March of 2006, our countries signed the Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership that greatly contributed to furthering and strengthening multifaceted Uzbek-Korean relations and elevated them to a new qualitative level.

In general, over the 22 years of diplomatic relations a solid legal basis for bilateral cooperation has been laid which today encompasses more than 300 documents that streamline collaboration in different fields which further diversified Uzbek-Korean relations and filled them with practical content of strategic partnership. The government of Uzbekistan is strongly committed to working closely with South Korea in further advancing this strategic partnership and widening the horizons of comprehensive cooperation. In order to maintain such collaboration, of special importance is the continuation of regular dialogue between the leaders of the two countries, which has become one of the hallmarks of Uzbek-Korean bilateral relations. President Park Geun-hye paid a state visit to the Republic of Uzbekistan on June 16-18, 2014. During the summit with our country’s President Islam Karimov, a wide range of bilateral and regional issues were thoroughly discussed and perspective areas of collaboration identified.

Uzbek President Islam Karimov, right, shakes hands with President Park Geun-hye.

The two heads of state after the summit meeting signed the “Joint Declaration between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea on the further development and deepening of the strategic partnership” that defines perspectives of cooperation in political, trade-economic, investment, cultural-humanitarian areas as well as collaboration in the framework of international organizations.

Uzbekistan, as an initiator of establishing the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, strongly supports a non-nuclear status for the Korean Peninsula. In this context, Tashkent is adamant supporter of Seoul’s aspiration for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula.

We have achieved notable success in the area of promoting inter-parliamentary cooperation. In 1995, in the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea, a Parliamentary Association of Friendship ― “Korea-Uzbekistan” ― was founded. In 2005, in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, a similar group of cooperation with Korea, was established. These institutions play an important role in furthering inter-parliamentary collaboration and supporting the overall process of strengthening bilateral relations.

Since 1995, the foreign ministries of the two countries have been on a regular basis holding political consultations. The last session took place in Seoul in April of this year. The parties discussed all aspects of bilateral relations, and exchanged views on important international and regional issues that are of mutual interest.

Today Korea is among the most important economic investment partners of Uzbekistan. Over the past 10 years, the trade turnover between the two countries has increased four-fold while the total volume of the announced Korean investments into the economy of Uzbekistan exceeded $6 billion.

Currently our countries have been cooperating in implementing a number of large-scale investment projects that give great impetus to deepening cooperation in the trade-economic, investment and energy sectors. Among them is the construction of the Ustyurt gas-chemical complex. This project, worth $4 billion, is carried out jointly with KOGAS, Lotte Chemical and STX Corporations. Its successful completion in 2015 will be another important landmark in bilateral investment cooperation.

There are a myriad of opportunities also for enhancing investment cooperation in the mining, oil-gas, petrochemical, construction, automobile-manufacturing and textile industries as well as in the agriculture sector and in the field of energy saving technologies. Today in Uzbekistan there are more than 410 enterprises with Korean participation.

Logistics are another area of cooperation. The world’s largest air-cargo carrier for the past six years, Korean Air, has been managing an International Logistic Center at the Airport of Navoi, which is located next to the Navoi Free Industrial Economic Zone, which creates exceptional conditions for developing economically viable production and swift delivery of manufactured products to global markets through an effective system of multimodal transportation networks.

Tashkent fully supports President Park’s “Eurasia Initiative.” From Uzbekistan’s perspective, it opens a wide avenue for the countries of this macro-region to develop mutually beneficial collaboration as well as it positively impacts on the revival of the Great Silk Road in today’s environment. The Uzbek side shares the view of the Korean leader that, “The creation of such a new Eurasia is not simply an ideal and a dream, but a viable goal to achieve”.

Our countries are also successfully cooperating in the cultural-humanitarian field, in particular in expanding exchanges and interactions in the area of education, tourism and sport. One of the concrete results of such collaboration is the creation in the capital of Uzbekistan, Tashkent, of the Seoul Park that became another symbol of special relations between our countries.

The Korean Diaspora in Uzbekistan, one of the largest in the world, plays an important role in strengthening friendly relations between our two countries. During President Park’s state visit to Uzbekistan the foreign ministers of the two countries signed a memorandum of understanding on creation of the House of Korean Culture and Art in Uzbekistan. Among the main purposes of this house is the creation of favorable conditions for the preservation of the cultural heritage, traditions and art of Uzbekistan’s Korean diaspora.

The successful creation of the house would not only meet Uzbekistan’s Koreans needs but also would be among the initial practical steps in gradual implementation of President Park’s “Eurasian Initiative” and stimulate other countries of the Eurasian region to be more actively involved in the process of bringing this vision to fruition.

In general, since the establishment of diplomatic relations the Republic of Korea has been for Uzbekistan, in all respects, a time-tested and reliable strategic partner that renders coherent support in implementing in our country important national programs of drastic reforms, and modernization of the economy and social sphere. In this regard, Uzbekistan strives for further development and strengthening of mutually beneficial relations with the Republic of Korea that serves the interests of the two countries and their peoples.

In conclusion, taking this opportunity, I would like to wish to the esteemed readers of this newspaper every success in all their endeavors, longevity and well-being”.

Bakhtiyor Ibragimov is Charge d’Affaires of the Embassy of Uzbekistan in Korea.