South Korea and Uzbekistan will pursue the delivery of eight additional Korean-made high-speed trains and the establishment of a national genome and biobank facility called the Biome Center. The two countries also agreed to expand joint project development and financial cooperation in strategic industries including artificial intelligence transformation in manufacturing, critical minerals, data centers and pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
President Lee Jae-myung and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev held a summit at the Presidential Office on the 14th and exchanged a total of 13 agreements, memorandums of understanding and contracts covering those areas. The two sides first signed a memorandum of understanding on the introduction of eight high-speed trainsets and the establishment of Uzbekistan's national genome and biobank Biome Center, and will begin a feasibility study under the Economic Development Cooperation Fund. After reviewing the project's scale, economic viability and implementation method, they plan to expand the scope of cooperation based on the findings and to support Korean companies entering the local market. The move also broadens bilateral cooperation, which had centered on transport infrastructure, into the health and biotechnology sectors.
The two countries will also strengthen cooperation in advanced industries. Through a memorandum of understanding on artificial intelligence transformation in manufacturing, they agreed to pursue technical cooperation, knowledge sharing, workforce training, infrastructure expansion and business exchanges. The Export-Import Bank of Korea signed a memorandum of understanding with Uzbekistan's Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade to jointly identify promising projects and explore financial support measures in six strategic industries: critical minerals, AI and data centers, smart cities, industrial complexes dedicated to Korean companies, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology, and food, beauty and content.
In the medical products sector, the two sides agreed to expand regulatory harmonization and information exchange to broaden the basis for Korean pharmaceutical and biotechnology firms to enter the Uzbek market. Cooperation will also expand in agriculture, tourism, education, intellectual property rights and forest restoration. KAI and Uzbektrade signed a defense industry cooperation contract, widening the scope of defense cooperation between the two countries.
Starting with the summit, Lee will step up relay summit diplomacy across Central Asia. On the morning of the 15th, Lee will hold a summit with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov, followed in the afternoon by talks with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev. On the morning of the 16th, he will meet Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov separately. Later that day, Lee will preside over the first Korea-Central Asia Summit. It is the first time South Korea and the five Central Asian nations have held a multilateral summit.
