Kazakhstan and Korea expand strategic partnership

Kazakhstan and Korea expand strategic partnership

Ashgabat, November 1, 2023

Kazakh-Korean Friendship

The Kazakh delegation led by the Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan, Murat Nurtleu, held a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Park Jin, and discussed with him issues of bilateral cooperation and interaction in a multilateral format.

They highly appreciated the current political cooperation between the two countries and expressed satisfaction over the increased trade and investment flow.

Today, the Republic of Korea is the 4th largest trading partner of Kazakhstan. In 2022, bilateral trade turnover between the two countries doubled and reached $6.1 billion.

In addition, Korea is the 6th largest foreign investor in Kazakhstan (1. Netherlands 2. USA 3. Switzerland 4. Russian Federation 5. China) in terms of investments made in 2022. Over the past 18 years (since 2005), Korea has invested $9.2 billion in Kazakhstan.

People-to-people ties between Kazakhstan and Korea are also rapidly developing. For example, there are 11 flights per week between Seoul and Almaty. Korean citizens can visit Kazakhstan without a visa for up to 30 days, as there is a visa-free regime in effect between the two countries. During the first half of 2023, the number of Korean travelers visiting Kazakhstan more than tripled, showing a greater interest in exploring this key Central Asian nation.

More than 700 companies with Korean capital operate in Kazakhstan. Among them are such large companies as Samsung Electronics, Lotte, Kia, Doosan Enerbility, LG Electronics, POSCO and Hyundai.

C5+K Ministerial meeting a success

Also, Deputy Prime Minister - Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu took part in the 16th meeting of the Central Asia – Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum. The event was also attended by the foreign ministers of the Republic of Korea, the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and the Republic of Uzbekistan.

During the meeting, the participants discussed issues of cooperation in the field of transport and logistics, healthcare and medicine, climate change and environmental protection, information and communication technologies, education and science as well as tourism.

The ministers outlined the priorities of their countries and the contours of interaction between the Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea.

In his speech, Minister Nurtleu noted that Kazakhstan highly appreciates the contribution of the Forum to the development of mutually beneficial cooperation between the countries of Central Asia and the Republic of Korea. “Effective promotion of our common broad agenda will contribute to increasing the global competitiveness of the countries of the region,” said Murat Nurtleu.

In general, intensifying multifaceted cooperation between the Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea on the basis of mutual respect and benefit meets the common interests of the region and is an important factor in sustainable development.

Following the event, a Joint Statement was adopted by the heads of delegations of the Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea, which identifies pathways for more meaningful engagement in the years to come.