The Republic of Korea is one of the leading trade, economic and invest…

최고관리자 0 3088 2021.01.29 16:52

On January 27, DUNYO, Uzbekistan's leading state media outlet, published a brief introduction to the Republic of Korea, as well as a general article on trade, economics, and investment between the two countries. In particular, the Korean Uzbek Business Association is mentioned in some parts of the text.

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The Republic of Korea is one of the newly industrialized countries in Asia, which has been characterized by high rates of economic growth in recent decades. Back in the 20th century, South Korea turned from a backward agrarian country into a developed economy, becoming one of the four "Asian tigers". The World Bank has classified South Korea as a high-income country since 2011. According to IMF estimates, in 2018, the country was in 14th place in the world in terms of gross domestic product (GDP) per capita. The population of the Republic of Korea in 2018 was 51.7 million.

South Korea seeks to establish multilateral economic cooperation. In September 1991, the country became a member of the UN, and currently it is a member of all its specialized agencies. And in 2007-2017 the Secretary General of the organization was the representative of South Korea Ban Ki-moon. The country is a member of the WTO, OECD, Interpol, G20, IAEA.

The Republic of Korea became the first country in the Asia-Pacific region to conclude an agreement on a free trade zone with the European Union. In total, South Korea is currently a party to 15 agreements on free trade and economic cooperation (including with the United States, China, India), 10 agreements are under negotiation.

The Republic of Korea is also actively involved in regional integration. Korea is a member of the Asian Development Bank and the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank.

For Uzbekistan, the Republic of Korea is one of the leading trade, economic and investment partners. A 1992 trade agreement between the two countries established the most favored nation regime in mutual trade. Since 1994, an effective mechanism has been functioning - the joint Intergovernmental Committee on Trade and Economic Cooperation. Over the past two years, 4 meetings were held with the participation of Deputy Prime Ministers for Economic Affairs.

The volume of bilateral trade in 2020, marked by the coronavirus pandemic, amounted to US $ 2.142 billion, which for the above reason is 22.2% lower compared to the same period last year.

Uzbekistan imports from South Korea vehicles and components, mechanical and electrical equipment, plastics and plastic products, construction materials, ferrous metals and products from them, optical instruments and devices, chemical products, rubber and rubber products, and others.

The structure of exports includes transport, construction and tourism services, raw materials, textile and chemical products, electrical equipment, food products, construction materials, oilseeds and fruits, and more. For example, today Uzbekistan can export 43 types of fresh, frozen and dried agricultural products to South Korea.

In 2018, an Korean Uzbekistan Business Center was opened in the city of Incheon, which promotes the promotion of Uzbek products in the South Korean market.

In April 2020, the Korea Uzbekistan Business Association (KUBA) was registered by the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of Korea, which acts as a platform for expanding economic cooperation between the two countries. CUBA representative office was registered in Uzbekistan in September 2020.

Uzbekistan also created the Uzbek-Korean educational and practical textile technopark, the Scientific and technological center of rare metals and alloys, the Design and technological center of agricultural engineering, the Uzbek-Korean center for cooperation in the field of "electronic government". The creation of Uzbek-Korean centers of cooperation in the field of construction and chemical technologies is being studied.

During the recent talks between the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade of Uzbekistan Sardor Umurzakov with the Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Economy and Finance of South Korea Hon Nam Ki, it was indicated that he was ready to start the negotiation process on the conclusion of an Agreement on a sustainable trade and economic partnership, which will contain key conditions and principles of cooperation in a wide range of areas, including issues of ensuring access of goods of Uzbek and South Korean production to the markets of the two countries, mechanisms for eliminating imbalances in mutual trade, concrete measures of practical assistance to the Korean side in the accelerated industrialization of Uzbekistan, infrastructure development and introduction of advanced Korean technologies in various fields.

Investment cooperation between our countries has great potential. To date, the volume of direct Korean investments attracted to the economy of Uzbekistan has exceeded $ 7 billion. In 2020 alone, despite the coronavirus pandemic, South Korean investments in the amount of $ 314 million were used in Uzbekistan.

At the moment, a package of new investment projects has been formed in the fields of energy, oil and gas sector, chemical, electrical and pharmaceutical industries, mechanical engineering, healthcare, education and tourism. For these projects, specific initiators, funding sources and implementation terms have already been identified.

Almost 900 enterprises with the participation of South Korean capital are successfully operating in Uzbekistan, including 539 enterprises with 100 percent foreign capital. Representative offices of 74 companies in South Korea were accredited.

Within the framework of financial and technical cooperation with the Eximbank of Korea, from 1999 to date, 17 joint projects worth $ 2.1 billion have been implemented, through the Economic Development Fund (EDCF) - for $ 296.5 million.

The total volume of gratuitous assistance to Uzbekistan through the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in 1995-2020 amounted to $ 130 million. In 2020, 6 projects were implemented with KOICA for a total of USD 21 million.

Within the framework of the Partnership Strategy for 2020 - 2022, 4 projects worth more than $ 34 million are being implemented in the republic, approval of the South Korean side has been received to finance new grant projects worth $ 43 million.

The data presented indicate the intensive dynamics of bilateral cooperation in the economic sphere, and this is also one of the indicators of a special strategic partnership, an agreement on which was signed in April 2019 during the visit of the President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae In to Uzbekistan.

Of course, this cooperation is fully consistent with the long-term interests of the peoples of the two countries, and this solid foundation and prospects leave no doubt about its further successful development.