President Lee Jae-myung on the 16th urged the leaders of five Central Asian nations to "prepare together for the next 30 years," presenting a "New Silk Road" vision linking South Korea and Central Asia. The plan calls for holding the Korea-Central Asia summit regularly to institutionalize a multilateral cooperation framework centered on security and supply chains, while sharply expanding Korean companies' presence in the region.
Speaking at the first Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul that day, Lee said the world is in "an era of great transformation in which the economy and security are closely intertwined," adding that "the Silk Road spirit of Central Asia, which connected the people, technology and culture of East and West, is more urgently needed than ever."
Lee and the leaders of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan, Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan adopted the Seoul Declaration, agreeing to institutionalize a regional multilateral cooperation framework. The declaration reaffirmed the commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace, and included joint responses to transnational crime. On the economic front, the sides created a Korea-Central Asia industry ministers' consultative body and signed a memorandum of understanding on industrial and supply chain cooperation.
The economic cooperation plans took shape at the Korea-Central Asia Business Summit that followed. Lee proposed broadening trade beyond its current concentration in energy and raw material imports into consumer goods and new industries such as bio and digital, while presenting a cooperation framework spanning critical minerals and advanced manufacturing.
The summit drew attention for its lineup, which included Chey Tae-won, chairman of SK Group and head of the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry; Chang In-hwa, chairman of POSCO; Koo Ja-eun, chairman of LS (006260); and Jin Ok-dong, chairman of Shinhan Financial Group, as well as the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources. Their presence reflected a plan to build a full-cycle cooperation system that goes beyond importing critical minerals to cover exploration and development, smelting, high-value-added materials processing and finished-product manufacturing.
"Amid the realignment of global supply chains, Central Asia is emerging as a treasure house of the critical minerals essential to producing electric vehicles, batteries and semiconductors," Lee said. "If Central Asia's abundant mineral resources, such as lithium and uranium, meet our battery and semiconductor manufacturing capabilities, we can lead the global market." On infrastructure, Lee stressed that "Korean companies, with their construction experience and proven technology, are the optimal partners for Central Asia."
The Korea-Central Asia Summit will be held every two years going forward. The second summit is scheduled to take place in Astana, Kazakhstan, in 2028.
