President Lee Jae-myung said on the 16th at the Korea-Central Asia Summit that "on the foundation of cooperation built over the past three decades, it is time for [Korea and Central Asia] to prepare together for the next 30 years."
Lee made the remarks in an opening address at the summit, which he attended alongside the leaders of five Central Asian countries — Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan. He first assessed that "the world today faces an era of great transformation in which economies and security are tightly linked across supply chains, energy, markets and technology."
He went on to say that "Central Asia's 'Silk Road spirit,' which once connected the people, technology and culture of East and West as one, is needed more urgently than ever." Lee said that "more than 90 years ago, our Koryo-saram compatriots — ethnic Koreans who settled in Central Asia generations ago — put down roots in Central Asia and began serving as a solid bridge linking Korea and Central Asia," adding that "on the basis of long historical ties, Korea and the five Central Asian countries have built broad cooperation and a relationship of trust spanning trade and investment, industry and infrastructure, and education and culture."
He further projected that "the respective strengths of the Republic of Korea and Central Asia will offer limitless opportunities to resolve our respective challenges together," and that "above all, when our cooperation expands beyond individual countries to the regional level, we can hasten a future of shared prosperity."
Lee closed his opening address by saying, "I hope today's meeting can serve as an important milestone that leads to a new leap forward."
