17.12.2021

On December 17, at the residence of the President of the Republic of Korea «Chong Wa Dae» in the city of Seoul, a solemn ceremony of the official welcome for the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan was held.

A guard of honor was lined up in honor of the distinguished guest and his spouse. The national anthems of the states were played. The official ceremony embodied the ancient history and bright modernity of the Land of Morning Calm.

Following that, the presidents held talks with the participation of official delegations of the two countries.

The President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in, welcoming the distinguished guest, stressed that Seoul attaches a great importance to the further development of cooperation with Tashkent in a wide range of areas.

«Welcome, distinguished Mr. Mirziyoyev, my dear brother. Welcome to Seoul. I vividly remember our online meeting in January this year. It was my first top-level meeting opening a year. Today we meet face-to-face in the departing year. I am especially pleased that it is with You that my diplomatic schedule has begun and is coming to an end. It is well known that the South Korea and the Republic of Uzbekistan are special strategic partners. By joint efforts, various projects in areas such as the production of agricultural equipment and electrical engineering, the power engineering industry and the energy sector, as well as the construction of industrial enterprises are being carried out. As a part of Your visit, a number of key documents will be signed. We are ready to join hands with Uzbekistan in response to global climate change, to develop cooperation in such promising areas as the creation of smart cities, smart farms, ICT and the production of electric cars. In the forthcoming year, we will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations. I hope that in the new year we will jointly create a new page of prosperity», said the President Moon Jae-in.

Thanking for the invitation, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed that openness and mutual respect are a solid foundation on which the relations between the two countries have historically been built.

«It is a pleasure to meet You. I would like to express my gratitude to You for the state visit invitation to beautiful Korea and for Your traditional warm welcome. The weather is cold now, however, the hearts of our Korean brothers are fairly warm. While being surrounded by friends here, we feel ourselves at home. We have a special warm attitude towards South Korea and its people. We have similar mentality, traditions and moral values. The implementation of «New Deal» has made it possible to strengthen the country’s leading positions in the high technologies, digitalization, innovative and «green» development, reveal the huge intellectual potential of the talented Korean people», said the President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

Our countries have been strategic partners for 15 years. The friendship and political will of Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Moon Jae-in have become powerful incentives to give a new momentum to the cooperation between Uzbekistan and Korea.

This is the fourth meeting of both presidents. In November 2017, Shavkat Mirziyoyev made his first state visit to the Republic of Korea. In April 2019, the President Moon Jae-in made a return visit to Uzbekistan, during which a Joint Declaration on a Special Strategic Partnership was adopted. During the Online Summit in January 2021, the leaders announced a number of new topical initiatives for further enhancing the ties.

This visit to Korea is a logical extension of an intensive dialogue.

The President of Uzbekistan has emphasized that the time itself requires us to reconsider the priorities of practical partnerships for a long term. The cooperation between the two countries should fully respond to the current challenges of the global economy.

The Republic of Korea is one of the key trading and economic partners of Uzbekistan. The trade turnover and the number of joint ventures have almost doubled in recent years. Despite the consequences of the pandemic, the multifaceted relations continue to develop dynamically.

Uzbekistan and Korea have made significant progress in terms of the conclusion of the Free Trade Agreement. The sides expressed confidence that, once it is signed next year, there shall be possible to increase and balance the trade indicators.

The volume of the Korean investments in the economy of Uzbekistan exceeds $7 billion. This year, $320 million has been disbursed, which is 20 percent more compared to 2020. The capital is directed for the implementation of joint projects in the chemical, petrochemical, textile, construction and agriculture industries.

The effectiveness of the long-term cooperation with the Korea Eximbank, as well as the Economic Development and Cooperation Fund (EDCF) deserves a special attention. For instance, financing has been increased to $1 billion through this fund alone. The substantial resources are used to implement the new projects in Uzbekistan until 2023.

The effective partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) is also expanding.

The President of Uzbekistan has identified three main areas of the immediate agenda: the «green» development, digitization and strengthening of the social protection system. It was suggested that all forward-looking joint projects, programs and action plans are proposed to be considered from the perspective of these main priorities.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has emphasized that by combining the human capital and natural resources of Uzbekistan with the advanced technologies and knowledge of the Republic of Korea, it is possible to create a good basis for the development of manufacturing of products demanded on the world market. In this regard, the President has proposed the establishment, with the assistance of the Economic Development Promotion Fund (EDPF), of the Uzbek-Korean Semiconductor and Electronics Cluster in the Tashkent Region. It will host scientific and educational institutions, research and development centers in the advanced technologies.

The sides expressed mutual intention to encourage and develop in every possible way the activities of the Textile Technology Park and the Agricultural Building Center jointly established in our country.

The achievements of Korea in the development of «digital» economy, artificial intelligence, «smart cities», outsourcing, a new generation of communication and Internet technologies are of practical interest to Uzbekistan.

Our countries have made great strides in the healthcare, pre-school education and higher education. Since last year, the Multidisciplinary Children’s Clinic - the first joint major medical project - has been operating in Tashkent.

The Korean model of education is one of the best in the world. Therefore, our country has completely reformed the pre-school education system based on the best practices and the knowledge of Korean partners.

The President of Uzbekistan stressed the importance of developing the innovative cooperation between universities and proposed the creation of a permanent platform for their regular dialogue and holding of the Forum of Rectors of Universities of the two countries next year.

During the talks, it was noted that the tourism industry could become one of the engines of economic growth in the post-pandemic period. Uzbekistan shall support the participation of Korean companies in projects for the construction of hotels and infrastructure.

Next year, the two countries will celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations and the 85th anniversary of the Korean diaspora living in Uzbekistan.

The leader of our country proposed to declare 2022 the «Year of Mutual Exchanges between Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea», to implement a project to establish the Museum of the History of Koreans, as well as a library at the House of Korean Culture and Art in Tashkent.

There was also an exchange of views on the global and regional agenda.

Uzbekistan and Korea have similar positions on many issues. The two states support each other on the international arena. The Republic of Korea stand for the election of Uzbekistan as a member of the UN Human Rights Council, as well as in favor of the candidacy of Samarkand as a venue for the 25th Session of the General Assembly of the World Tourism Organization in 2023. In turn, Uzbekistan endorses Korea’s intention to become a non-permanent member of the UN Security Council in 2024-2025.

President Shavkat Mirziyoyev praised the growing role of the Republic of Korea-Central Asia Forum in promoting the sustainable development of our region.

The Leader of Uzbekistan proposed to introduce the new effective mechanisms for dialogue at the level of parliaments and governments in order to promote promising projects and programs of the mutually beneficial cooperation.

The State visit of the President of Uzbekistan was a historic event in terms of the importance of the decisions taken and the agreements reached, and provided for a solid basis for taking the special strategic partnership to an even higher level.