Says Ambassador Fen of Uzbekistan at a recent interview with The Korea Post

Ambassador Vitaliy Fen of the Republic of Uzbekistan in Seoul said, “This year marks the 30th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea.” Speaking at an exclusive interview with The Korea Post media at his office in Seoul, Ambassador Fen then said, “In addition, during the visit of the head of Uzbekistan to Korea last year, he proposed to declare 2022 as ‘The year of mutual exchanges between Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea.’ Details of the interview follow:

Question: First of all, we would like to thank you for your time to give us an interview. This year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Uzbekistan and Korea. In addition, during the visit of the head of Uzbekistan to Seoul last year, he proposed to declare 2022 as "The year of mutual exchanges between Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea." How do you assess the current state of relations between two countries?
Answer:
First of all, I would like to emphasize that Uzbekistan and Korea, although they are located in far proximity, are connected by long-lasting ties of friendship and mutually beneficial cooperation.
Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, South Korea has been our reliable friend and partner that has stood the test of time. This is evidenced by the fact that today this country ranks fourth among Uzbekistan's foreign trade partners.

 

The-then newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol (right) receives a Congratulatory Letter from the President of Uzbekistan, Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, through First Deputy Chairman Sodiq Safoev of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan (right) on May 9, 2022.
The-then newly elected President Yoon Suk-yeol (right) receives a Congratulatory Letter from the President of Uzbekistan, Mr. Shavkat Mirziyoyev, through First Deputy Chairman Sodiq Safoev of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of Uzbekistan (right) on May 9, 2022.

It is noteworthy that in April 2019, relations between our countries were raised to a completely new level – Special Strategic Partnership. In December 2021, a joint statement on deepening special strategic partnership relations between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea was adopted.
Cooperation between our countries is based on the principles of openness, mutual understanding and mutual respect of interests.
Despite the pandemic situation, dialogues at higher and higher levels are continuing. In particular, the second state visit of the President of Uzbekistan to the Republic of Korea in December last year opened a new era in cooperation between our countries and friendly relations between our peoples.
The President of Uzbekistan emphasized the importance of three main areas of cooperation for the near future: "green" development, digitization and strengthening of the social protection system. It was proposed to develop all future joint projects, programs and action plans based on these main priorities.
Today, cooperation is being actively implemented in all spheres, political, economic, cultural, scientific and educational, healthcare, information technology and other areas.
On the occasion of the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations, a number of cultural events are being held in both Tashkent and Seoul.
I found it appropriate to list some of them.
First of all, a special issue dedicated to the year of exchanges between the two countries was published in January in "The Korea Post" magazine.
On February 7-11, "Uzbekistan Week" was held at Ajou University in Korea. Pedagogical and methodical experience was exchanged with Korean professors.
From February 24 to March 3, videos dedicated to the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the two countries were demonstrated on the big screens in Lotte Hotel in the center of Seoul.
On March 21-22, "Uzbekistan Culture Festival" was held at Kemyung University in Daegu. As part of the cultural festival, the embassy organized a large-scale exhibition dedicated to the history, culture, traditions, art, tourism potential of our country, and friendly relations between the two countries.
From March 21 to April 1, a video and photo exhibition dedicated to the friendly relations between the two countries and the tourism potential of our country was organized at the Lotte World Tower located in Seoul. The video clip shows the history of the special strategic partnership between Uzbekistan and South Korea and its current state of relations.
From March 25 to April 3, the team of the Alisher Navoi State Academic Theater of Uzbekistan made its first tour to the Republic of Korea.
On April 5-15, a photo exhibition on "Uzbekistan-South Korea: 30 years of cooperation" was held in Inchon.
These are just a few examples. The most important thing today is that cooperation is developing on the basis of mutual trust and interest.

 

Ambassador Vitaliy Fen of Uzbekistan in Seoul is flanked on the left by Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post media and Managing Editor Kevin Lee at the Embassy of Uzbekistan at the time of an interview.
Ambassador Vitaliy Fen of Uzbekistan in Seoul is flanked on the left by Publisher-Chairman Lee Kyung-sik of The Korea Post media and Managing Editor Kevin Lee at the Embassy of Uzbekistan at the time of an interview.

- The delegation led by Sadiq Safoev, the first deputy chairman of the Senate of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan, took part in the inauguration ceremony of the new president of South Korea, Mr. Yoon Suk-Yeol.
Representatives of the delegation of Uzbekistan were warmly received by the new leader of South Korea. It is no exaggeration to say that the meeting, scheduled for 15 minutes in the protocol, lasted almost 1 hour, and the dialogue took place in an extremely sincere and upbeat spirit, which is evidence of the South Korean leader's special attention to the relations with Uzbekistan. 
At the beginning of the meeting, the head of the Uzbekistan delegation, presented to Yoon Suk-yeol a congratulatory letter from the President of the Republic of Uzbekistan, Shavkat Mirziyoyev. The leader of Uzbekistan expressed sincere congratulations and best wishes on his inauguration as the President of the Republic of Korea.
During the dialogue, it was noted that the positions of the two countries are similar on important issues of international politics, on the consistent expansion of cooperation in trade, economy, investment, healthcare and education.
Yoon Suk-yeol emphasized that Uzbekistan occupies a special place in the foreign policy of the Republic of Korea, and he paid special attention to the fact that this year marks the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries and the 85th anniversary of the Korean diaspora living in Uzbekistan.
"About 200,000 Korean diasporas living in Uzbekistan is a bridge connecting the relations between our countries," Yoon Suk-yeol said.
The fact that Yoon Suk-yeol believes that Uzbekistan and Korea can do a lot for mutual development and that he will do his best to encourage Korean companies to invest more in the economy of Uzbekistan shows how our relations will develop in the future.
Regular high-level dialogues between the leaders of Uzbekistan and South Korea have become a good tradition. I hope that Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol will visit Uzbekistan and continue this tradition.
I would like to take this opportunity to congratulate the new President of South Korea, Mr. Yoon Suk-yeol, on his appointment to this position.

Q: In the second half of this year, a number of major events are planned to be held in Uzbekistan. Can you share about these events, too?
A:
You rightly noted that Uzbekistan will host several major international events by the end of the year.
I would like to note that recently, on July 25-26, an international conference on Afghanistan was held in Tashkent with the participation of more than 20 countries and international organizations.
The main purpose of the event was to develop comprehensive measures and proposals on the approaches of the world community to issues of stability, security, post-war reconstruction in Afghanistan, the integration of this country into the processes of regional cooperation for the benefit of multinational ethnic Afghans and the whole world.
This conference was a logical continuation of the Tashkent High-Level International Conference on Afghanistan on March 27, 2018 on the theme “Peace Process, Security Cooperation & Regional Connectivity”, as well as the High-Level International Conference “Central and South Asia: Regional Connectivity. Challenges and Opportunities».
The second major event is undoubtedly the meeting of the Council of Heads of State of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization.
As you know, Uzbekistan is chairing the SCO this year. More than 80 major events were foreseen in the plan of the presidency of the Republic of Uzbekistan in the SCO. To date, most of them have been implemented. These activities cover not only the established areas of cooperation in the SCO, but also new areas such as interregional trade, industrial cooperation, innovation, poverty reduction, digital transformation and the development of cooperation in other areas.

 

Samarkand is preparing to hold the summit of the SCO and the Organization of Turkic States
Samarkand is preparing to hold the summit of the SCO and the Organization of Turkic States

This year's SCO summit is planned to be held in the ancient and modern city of Samarkand. At the summit, it is expected to sign a set of strong legal and conceptual documents aimed at bringing multilateral cooperation within the organization to a new qualitative level.
The third major international conference is the summit of the leaders of the member countries of the Organization of Turkic States.
The important aspect of this event, which is planned to be held in Samarkand, is that the summit held in Uzbekistan will go down in history as the first meeting of the "Organization of Turkic States". Before that, the organization operated under the name "Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States".

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