SEOUL, September 14 (AJP) - The search for critical minerals in Central Asia picked up a lender on Monday, when the Asian Development Bank said it was ready to co-finance South Korean projects across the region, two days before the first Korea-Central Asia Summit opens in Seoul.
The Asian Development Bank (ADB) is Uzbekistan's largest investor, with more than $15 billion in cumulative assistance, and agreed this year on an indicative country program worth $12.4 billion running from 2026 through 2030. Uzbekistan is where South Korea has concentrated its minerals effort.
Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Economy Koo Yun-cheol met ADB President Masato Kanda at the government complex in Seoul on Monday morning, in Kanda's first visit to South Korea since he took office. Koo heads a ministry reorganized out of the old planning and finance ministry in 2025, with budget authority moved to a separate agency reporting to the prime minister.
Koo said cooperation with the bank on climate technology, artificial intelligence and critical minerals had to turn into "tangible results," and proposed widening it across Central Asia off the back of the summit and a separate bilateral meeting with Uzbekistan.
On minerals, he argued that deeper work with Uzbekistan could build up local industry and secure supply for Korean manufacturers at the same time.
Kanda said the bank stood ready to support cooperation between South Korea and Central Asia "through co-financing of major projects" and similar arrangements. Co-financing would put ADB capital alongside Korean money in individual mining and processing ventures, spreading the risk that has kept Korean firms cautious about the region. He added that he hoped the minerals work would lead to "concrete investment."
Koo asked for help getting ADB's Center for AI Innovation and Development standing and operating quickly. Kanda launched the center in Samarkand in May, backed by a $20 million contribution from the South Korean government, and it is to be based in Seoul as a regional hub for AI adoption, with a target of training about 3 million people in digital and AI skills by 2035.
Koo also proposed projects matching Korean technology and experience to demand for AI transition in developing countries, and asked the bank to take an active part in the global AI hub South Korea is building. Kanda said he expected the Seoul center to strengthen AI cooperation between the two sides.
The energy discussion followed from the AI one. Koo said the expansion of AI industries has raised the importance of stable energy infrastructure, and suggested ADB draw on Korean generation, transmission and distribution technology and operating experience for its regional energy projects.
The two also exchanged views on where ADB energy policy goes next now that the bank can support nuclear power. ADB amended that policy in November 2025 to remove its prohibition on financing nuclear investments and afterward signed an agreement with the International Atomic Energy Agency, though any financing remains subject to readiness assessments and no nuclear project has been approved.
AJP Takeaways
- Asian Development Bank President Masato Kanda told South Korea's deputy prime minister on Monday that the bank stood ready to back cooperation with Central Asia through co-financing of major projects and said he hoped the critical minerals work would lead to concrete investment.
- Koo Yun-cheol asked the bank to get its Seoul-based Center for AI Innovation and Development operating quickly, to take an active role in the global AI hub South Korea is building, and to draw on Korean generation, transmission and distribution technology for its regional energy projects.
- The Asian Development Bank is Uzbekistan's largest investor, with more than $15 billion in cumulative assistance and an indicative country program worth $12.4 billion for 2026 through 2030, and it launched the AI center in Samarkand in May with a $20 million South Korean contribution, with a target of training about 3 million people by 2035. Those figures come from ADB's own announcements rather than from the meeting.
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