South Korea and five Central Asian countries are expanding cooperation on key mineral supply chains and the transition to manufacturing artificial intelligence (AI). They have also established a new multilateral ministerial consultative body and signed cooperation documents and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) between governments and businesses.
The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on September 17 that the first Korea-Central Asia Summit, held in Seoul from September 14 to 16, laid the groundwork for economic cooperation with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
This marks the first time in 34 years of diplomatic relations that South Korea and the five Central Asian countries have gathered to discuss industrial and key mineral supply chain cooperation. The plan is to connect the strategic minerals held by each country with South Korea's manufacturing and processing technologies to establish a cooperative system that spans from local refining to high-value processing and finished product production.
Initially, the governments held the first Korea-Central Asia Ministerial Meeting on September 14, where they signed an MOU on industrial and supply chain cooperation. This created a ministerial-level consultative channel to discuss responses to supply chain crises and industrial diversification.
Eight bilateral cooperation documents were also signed. With Kazakhstan, a basic agreement on oil cooperation was established to enhance collaboration across the entire oil value chain, including oil field development and petrochemicals. An MOU on nuclear cooperation was also signed to support comprehensive collaboration in nuclear power and the entry of South Korean companies into the local market.
With Kyrgyzstan, the existing trade and investment cooperation MOU was revised to expand the scope of cooperation to include key minerals, halal products, and digital transformation, along with the establishment of a regular consultative body at the director level. Tajikistan and South Korea signed their first industrial cooperation MOU since establishing diplomatic relations, laying the groundwork for collaboration in mining, key minerals, AI, textiles, and chemicals.
In cooperation with Turkmenistan, they will promote policy, technology, and human resource collaboration in the chemical industry and plant sectors. With Uzbekistan, three MOUs were signed covering a comprehensive cooperation platform for key minerals, the transition to manufacturing AI, and strengthening export capabilities. Plans are in place to expand cooperation in processing technology and human resource development through a rare metals center and to promote AI manufacturing innovation linked to official development assistance (ODA).
Private business cooperation also progressed. At a bilateral event on September 15, 97 MOUs were signed, including 78 with Kazakhstan, five with Uzbekistan, and 14 with Turkmenistan. These agreements encompass the construction of gas processing plants, expansion of petrochemical facilities, development of the Alatau smart city, and exploration and development of key minerals.
On September 16, a business summit attended by leaders from six countries and over 520 businesspeople adopted a joint declaration and exchanged an additional 19 MOUs. These included Hyundai Motor's collaboration on the Alatau smart city, the Korea Institute of Industrial Technology's cooperation on rare metals technology, and SAC's export of alloy plant equipment.
The Ministry stated, "We plan to regularize the ministerial meetings and monitor the implementation of key projects through practical consultative bodies, while also addressing business challenges by linking local embassies and the Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) trade offices."
* This article has been translated by AI.
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