South Korea Is Preparing a New Economic Strategy for Central Asia
The South Korean government is developing a comprehensive plan to dramatically expand economic cooperation with five Central Asian countries. According to the South Korean economic publication ETNews, citing the country's Ministry of Finance and Economy, Seoul intends to diversify its supply chains and open new markets for Korean businesses.
The first-ever Central Asia-Republic of Korea summit, scheduled for September 16-17 this year in Seoul, provided the main impetus for intensifying contacts.
Seoul emphasizes that the Central Asian states—Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan—are of enormous strategic importance. South Korea's primary interests are focused on two key areas:
Supply security: The region is rich in critical mineral resources and rare earth elements, essential for Korea's high-tech industry. Amid global instability, the friendly policies of Central Asian countries make them reliable partners.
Infrastructure boom: The region's developing economies are experiencing high growth rates. This opens up enormous opportunities for large Korean corporations in construction, information and communications technology, and manufacturing.
Currently, the scale of trade and economic cooperation between the two countries remains relatively modest. Last year, Korea's combined trade turnover with all five countries in the region amounted to approximately $10 billion.
Meanwhile, Seoul's trade balance is unevenly distributed: Kazakhstan ranks 39th, Uzbekistan 58th, and Turkmenistan 145th. Korean analysts cite challenging logistics conditions and poor connectivity of transport infrastructure as the main constraints.
To address this situation, South Korean relevant agencies will launch a large-scale study in the second half of the year. Through the embassies of the five countries in Seoul, the specific economic needs of each country will be examined in detail.
The implementation of new cooperation mechanisms will require flexibility: Seoul will need to find a balance between creating a region-wide multilateral body and developing targeted, individual projects with each of the five countries, given the significant differences in their economic conditions.
Representatives of the South Korean Ministry of Finance summarize: strengthening ties with Central Asia is a long-term priority that will allow Korean businesses to gain a firm foothold in one of the most promising markets in Eurasia.
