South Korea and five Central Asian countries are expanding the framework of cooperation established at a recent summit into business partnerships. They plan to develop new economic cooperation and private exchange models focused on future industries such as energy, key minerals, infrastructure, and artificial intelligence (AI).
President Lee Jae-myung emphasized during his keynote speech at the 'Korea-Central Asia Business Summit' held at a hotel in Seoul on September 16 that there is a need to strengthen comprehensive cooperation in the key minerals sector, moving beyond simple raw material trade to include exploration, refining, high-value material processing, and finished product production.
He outlined three key tasks for the 'new Silk Road' that South Korea and the five Central Asian countries will develop together: expanding trade and investment, collaborating in key minerals and advanced manufacturing, and building future infrastructure.
President Lee noted that trade between South Korea and Central Asia has grown from $15 million at the time of diplomatic relations in 1992 to over $10 billion last year. He stressed the need to diversify the trade structure, which is currently focused on automobiles, parts, energy, and raw materials, to include consumer goods, biotechnology, and digital industries.
In the key minerals sector, he proposed combining Central Asia's resources, such as lithium and uranium, with South Korea's battery and semiconductor manufacturing capabilities. He reiterated the importance of comprehensive cooperation throughout the entire cycle, from exploration to production.
Future infrastructure development, including urban development, high-speed rail, plants, power grids, and logistics networks, was also highlighted as a major area of economic cooperation. President Lee pointed out that Central Asia, with a population of 84 million and an average age of 27, is experiencing rapid growth and increasing demand for infrastructure modernization, making South Korean companies with extensive experience and proven technology ideal partners for innovation in the region.
The business summit was organized to establish networks among business leaders from South Korea and Central Asian countries and deepen practical cooperation across various sectors. A total of 130 representatives from 103 companies, including SK Group Chairman Chey Tae-won, POSCO, LS, Shinhan Financial Group, Samsung Electronics, Samsung C&T, and Hyundai Motor, attended the event.
Additionally, President Lee and the leaders of the five Central Asian countries adopted the 'Seoul Declaration of the First Korea-Central Asia Summit' and agreed to hold the summit every two years. In years when the summit does not take place, a ministerial-level Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum will be held. This plan aims to elevate the existing ministerial cooperation framework to a summit level, establishing a continuous multilateral cooperation system.
The declaration outlines cooperation directions in areas such as key minerals and energy supply chains, urban and transportation infrastructure, AI and digital transformation, climate and water resources, and human exchanges. It also includes plans to establish 'Korean Desks' in the governments of Central Asian countries to support South Korean companies and to combine South Korea's technological capabilities with Central Asia's resource and growth needs to create a joint value-added production network.
Furthermore, the leaders signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on industrial and supply chain cooperation, laying the institutional groundwork for economic collaboration. They agreed to expand joint projects in areas such as industrial policy, manufacturing, infrastructure, key minerals and energy, and digital transformation, and to establish a Korea-Central Asia industrial ministers' council to discuss implementation progress and new cooperation projects.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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