The Director of the International Institute for Central Asia met with the Ambassador of the Republic of Korea to Uzbekistan Kim Hee-sang, to discuss further prospects for interaction.

The Ambassador noted that thanks to the efforts of the Head of State, relations between Uzbekistan and Korea have achieved an unprecedented rise, and cooperation in various fields continues to bring fruitful results.

Today, Tashkent and Seoul are building a mutually beneficial partnership, prioritizing strengthening dialogue at the highest level as an essential condition for enhancing interstate interaction.

In the last year alone, meetings between the Presidents of the two countries took place in New York, six Korean ministers visited Tashkent, including the ministers of foreign affairs, economy and defense. The foreign ministers met three times in Tashkent, Dushanbe, and Seoul.

The parties stated that over the years of cooperation, Uzbekistan and South Korea have ensured the progressive development of bilateral relations and achieved high dynamics in deepening multifaceted collaboration.

More than 180,000 ethnic Koreans live in Uzbekistan, making the country the largest in Central Asia and the fifth-largest Korean diaspora globally.

Uzbekistan is South Korea’s key trading partner in Central Asia, with trade turnover reaching $2.34 billion last year.

During the conversation, the special significance of the C5+ format for Korea was also noted, since Central Asia has a high geopolitical importance. The Republic of Korea was the first among all states to put forward the C5+ Republic of Korea platform in 2007, enhancing its regional multilateral ties.

At the 16th Cooperation Forum “Republic of Korea – Central Asia”, it was decided to create the Korea – Central Asia Think Tank Forum, which emphasizes the importance of research institutions to increase cooperation between countries. The first forum will take place this year in the Republic of Korea. Experts from the International Institute for Central Asia will represent Uzbekistan.

Following the meeting, Ambassador Kim Hee-sang noted the importance of increasing cooperation between the expert and analytical community of Central Asian countries, declaring his readiness to strengthen cooperation between IICA and leading agencies and think tanks in Korea.

UzA