On July 6 this year, Seoul hosted the negotiations between Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Investment and Foreign Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan S. Umurzakov and Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Economy and Finance of the Republic of Korea Hong Nam-ki. Here, the parties reviewed the current economic cooperation of the two countries and defined further goals to expand bilateral cooperation.­

The dialogue repeatedly emphasized the special strategic nature of relations between Korea and Uzbekistan and noted that the common priority of the parties was the full, high-quality, and timely implementation of the agreements reached during the mutual summits.

The Government of the Republic of Uzbekistan expressed its gratitude for the humanitarian assistance provided by the Government and major corporations of Korea including test systems, medical equipment, and inventory, as well as for highly qualified specialists sent to Uzbekistan to combat the pandemic, who practically assisted Uzbek doctors for several months.

There was a particular appreciation for the decision of the Government of Korea to provide grant support for the Emergency Response Program for COVID-19 in Uzbekistan, which provides for technical assistance in healthcare and social support for the most vulnerable population.

Uzbekistan disclosed its settled intentions to support the New Northern Policy implemented by the the President of Korea and comprehensively support promising projects under this initiative. In particular, this Program provides for the measures aimed at the significant increase in the Korean commodity turnover with the countries of Central Asia, as well as stimulation of Korea’s investment cooperation with the states of the region focused on such sectors as agriculture, automotive, healthcare, pharmaceuticals, and ICT.

The parties mutually supported the initiative to develop a new 3-year program of financial and technical cooperation between Uzbekistan and Korea for 2021-2023 with an increase in its budget to USD 1 billion in cooperation with the Ministry of Economy and Finance of Korea.

For reference: The cooperation program for 2018-2020 providing 6 projects worth USD 500 million in healthcare, geodesy and cartography, ICT and education is under completion.

The Korean side also expressed its willingness to support new projects together with the Eximbank of Korea and the Economic Development and Cooperation Fund (EDCF) through acceleration of relevant procedures and processes, as well as promotion of new projects scheduled for implementation involving the Korea International Cooperation Agency. Particular attention was paid to the successful implementation of a number of promising projects in priority sectors, including a project to develop the potential for the production of potato seeds involving the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs of Korea, the creation of Uzbek-Korean Research Center to introduce advanced construction technologies and standards, the construction of a comprehensive Center for training, education, personnel development and an innovative state preschool educational system and the introduction of a pilot model of Korean-Uzbek cooperation for innovation in digital healthcare in Uzbekistan.

The parties emphasized a considerable assistance of the Korean side in bilateral cooperation within accession to the World Trade Organization, in particular, through the practical assistance of the Chairman of the Working Group on Uzbekistan’ accession to the WTO, Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary Ambassador of Korea in Geneva, as well as close cooperation with the Korean Institute of International Economic Policy regarding research on the impact of Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO. They noted that Uzbekistan's accession to the Organization and its integration into the multilateral global trade system will open up new opportunities to further increase the volume of mutual trade.

Besides, they noted that the Government of Korea is ready to fully support the measures taken in Uzbekistan to reduce the negative consequences of the Aral Sea ecological disaster. In this regard, it is planned to consider the allocation of funds to support the Multi-Partner Trust Fund for Human Security in the Aral Sea region.

Following the meeting, the parties agreed to intensify further cooperation to expand the portfolio of mutually-beneficial arrangements and implement new investment projects and trade agreements that will positively affect the further development of relations between Uzbekistan and Korea. They also agreed to hold the 3rd meeting of the Deputy Prime Ministers of the two countries in September this year.