Solid Uzbekistan-Korea ties witnessed through strategic partnership, pandemic
President Moon Jae-in and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev shake hands after signing the Joint Declaration on Special Strategic Partnership during Moon's state visit to the Uzbek capital of Tashkent in this April 2019 photo. / Courtesy of Embassy of Uzbekistan
By Yi Whan-woo
Relations between Uzbekistan and Korea “have stood the test of time” after their establishment on Dec. 30, 1992, and are especially evident through a special strategic partnership formed in April 2019, Uzbek Ambassador to Korea Vitaliy Fen said.
The envoy pointed out that Uzbekistan was the first country to send a delegation to Korea after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic last year, which is a testament to the partnership signed between the administrations of Presidents Moon Jae-in and Shavkat Mirziyoyev.
Uzbek Ambassador to Korea Vitaliy Fen delivers a congratulatory speech during the opening ceremony of the first Korean-Uzbek business center in Incheon, Nov. 8, 2018. / Courtesy of Embassy of Uzbekistan
“Regular dialogue between the leaders of the two countries plays a key role in the consistent promotion and deepening of bilateral cooperation,” Fen said in an interview with Dunyo, a news agency operated by the Uzbek foreign ministry, on the occasion of the Moon-Mirziyoyev online summit held on Jan. 28.
The ambassador called Moon's state visit to Uzbekistan from April 18 to 21, 2019, “historical and unprecedented in spirit,” noting it was when the special strategic partnership was formed.
Regarding the visit of the Uzbek delegation to Korea from July 6 to 8, 2020, the ambassador said it “once again confirms the special level of strategic partnership relations and the desire of the two countries to further strengthen it.”
The Uzbek delegation, led by Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade Sardor Umurzakov, met government officials and executives of major companies here at the time.
Fen said the two sides have continued cooperation despite the pandemic, and bilateral trade volume in 2020 amounted to $2.1 billion, while 7,000 Koreans traveled to Uzbekistan, according to the statistics department of Uzbekistan.
“Uzbekistan and Korea are reliable partners that have stood the test of time,” Fen said.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev joins the Second International Forum for Northern Economic Cooperation, an online meeting organized by a presidential committee here, on Oct. 30, 2020. / Courtesy of Embassy of Uzbekistan
In November 2020, the two countries agreed to start negotiations on a free trade agreement (FTA).
In October of the same year, Uzbek President Mirziyoyev participated in the Second International Forum for Northern Economic Cooperation, an online conference organized by a presidential committee here to realize President Moon's New Northern Policy aimed at bolstering ties with countries situated further north than the Korean Peninsula.
During the forum, Mirziyoyev and Moon shared thoughts on digital and green technologies, as well as developing cooperation in the transport and logistics sectors.
President Moon Jae-in and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev attend the opening of House of Korean Culture and Art during Moon's state visit to the Uzbek capital of Tashkent in April 2019. / Courtesy of Embassy of Uzbekistan
Fen noted 180,000 ethnic Koreans live in Uzbekistan, and 70,000 Uzbeks live in Korea, and this makes the role of public diplomacy more important.
“In this regard, I would like to note the active dialogue between the legislative bodies of our countries, the mutual visits of the speakers, as well as the systematic work of the parliamentary friendship association,” he said.
Regarding cultural and personnel exchanges, the envoy viewed the two counties share similarities in culture and mentality and that the exchanges are developing very actively.
He also viewed there is “a huge potential for expanding cooperation in this area, in connection with which our countries demonstrate mutual interest in this process.”