Seoul hosts first summit between South Korea and Central Asian countries
The first summit involving President Lee Jae-myung and the leaders of five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan — was held in Seoul, South Korea. The parties discussed their vision for regional cooperation and adopted the Seoul Declaration, The Korea Herald reports.
The meeting was attended by Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Before the regional summit, Lee Jae-myung held separate bilateral talks with each of the five leaders.
Plans for the next 30 years
The South Korean president called for the start of a new 30-year stage of partnership between his country and the Central Asian states. According to him, the strengths of the parties complement each other at a time when the economy and security are closely interconnected through supply chains, energy, markets and technology.
More current news is available on the UA.News Telegram channel Telegram.
Lee Jae-myung said that expanding cooperation from the bilateral to the regional level could bring shared prosperity closer. He also noted that over three decades, the countries have built relations of trust in trade and investment, industry and infrastructure, education and culture.
The Seoul Declaration
The Seoul Declaration sets out a medium- and long-term vision for cooperation and creates a framework for sustainable multilateral engagement between South Korea and the five Central Asian countries. The summit marked the next stage in the development of the regional format that Seoul launched in 2007 as a forum at the deputy ministerial level. In 2020, it was elevated to the level of foreign ministers.
The country's government proposed the initiative to establish a South Korea-Central Asia leaders' forum in June 2024, and all five states supported it. The format is intended to enable discussion of transport connectivity, customs procedures, energy and climate issues, which are more difficult to resolve solely through bilateral contacts.
