State Visit of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of Uzbekistan to the Repub…
Mr,President Shavkat Mirziyoyev of the Republic of Uzbekistan arrived in South Korea on September 13 for a state visit ahead of the inaugural Korea–Central Asia Summit, scheduled to take place in Seoul on September 16.
Mr President Mirziyoyev emphasized the longstanding friendship between the two countries, stating, “Korea and Uzbekistan are long-standing partners and close friends who have always supported one another,” while expressing his strong commitment to further expanding bilateral cooperation in advanced and emerging industries.
President Mirziyoyev is scheduled to hold a bilateral summit with President Lee Jae Myung on September 14.
Uzbekistan, strategically located at the crossroads connecting Europe, Asia, and the Middle East, has emerged as a key country in Central Asia. It has the largest population in the region and is the only Central Asian country that shares borders with all four of the other Central Asian nations.
Uzbekistan is also the first country to which South Korea has exported its high-speed railway technology.
President Mirziyoyev described Korea as “a country that has always held a special place in my heart.” He added, “By combining Korea’s advanced industrial capabilities with Uzbekistan’s growth potential and abundant resources, we can create new engines of growth together in future-oriented industries such as artificial intelligence (AI), semiconductors, electric vehicles, biopharmaceuticals, and smart agriculture.”
He further stated, “Uzbekistan seeks to integrate more deeply into global value chains, while Korea is working to diversify its supply chains. Our respective needs therefore complement each other.” He also pledged active support for Korean companies seeking to establish advanced manufacturing hubs in Uzbekistan, covering the entire production process from local sourcing of components to finished products.
President Mirziyoyev highly praised Korea’s remarkable development, noting that “Korea transformed itself from an agriculture-based economy into one of the world’s leading advanced industrial nations within just one generation, and Uzbekistan is now embarking on its own path of major transformation.”
He also referred to an Uzbek proverb: “A horse running alone cannot even raise dust.”
He explained that the proverb reflects the belief that great achievements can only be accomplished when people join forces, underscoring his expectations for even closer cooperation with Korea.
Uzbekistan is rich in natural resources, possessing more than 100 types of mineral resources, including gold, copper, natural gas, and uranium.
More than 700 business and joint-venture projects involving Korean companies are currently being pursued in Uzbekistan, while Korea’s cumulative investment in the country has exceeded USD 8 billion.
Against this backdrop, President Mirziyoyev compared the growing partnership between the two countries to opening a “New Silk Road” for the 21st century.
“In the past, the Silk Road served not only as a route for the exchange of goods, but also for ideas, knowledge, and technology. Today, advanced production networks, digital connectivity, and transportation and energy corridors can play that role,” he said.
He further emphasized that “by combining Korea’s technology and capital with Central Asia’s resources and strategic geographic advantages, we can build new value chains and logistics networks.”
It is sincerely hoped that President Shavkat Mirziyoyev’s state visit to the Republic of Korea will serve as another important milestone in further strengthening the friendship and cooperation between Korea and Uzbekistan,
while opening new opportunities for mutually beneficial economic development and shared prosperity.
