On November 1, Ashgabat hosted the 16th Central Asia-Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum. The event brought together Minister of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kazakhstan Murat Nurtleu, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Kyrgyzstan Jeenbek Kulubaev, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Mukhriddin, Minister of Foreign Affairs of Uzbekistan Bakhtiyor Saidov and Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea Park Jin, a CentralAsia.news correspondent in Turkmenistan reported from the venue.
The foreign ministers discussed priority vectors of further joint efforts to promote social and economic development and prosperity of the Central Asian region through introducing practical technology and personnel exchanges and adopting South Korea’s advanced expertise in various fields, the press office of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan reported.
The diplomats noted that the main theme of coordinated interaction in 2023 is cooperation through the realization of the enormous potential of youth in shaping a sustainable future in Central Asia and the Republic of Korea. In this regard, the parties emphasised the advisability of focusing joint efforts on strengthening ties in this field and formulating a Strategy for international youth cooperation between Central Asia and South Korea in the near future. The participants specified education, science, culture and sports as key components of the Strategy and put forward specific proposals.
The foreign ministers paid special attention to cooperation in economy, transport, logistics, tourism, advanced technologies, industry, investment, telecommunications, space, water resources, healthcare and agriculture.
Following the forum, the participants adopted a Joint Statement of the Ministers of Foreign Affairs, approved the Work Plan of the Secretariat of the Central Asia-Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum for 2024 and agreed to hold the next meeting in South Korea next year.
