The President of South Korea visited Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan in recent days. He focused on access to rare earth minerals, especially needed by Korean semiconductor and battery manufacturers.
Tashkent () – The President of South Korea, Yoon Suk-yeol, recently concluded an itinerary of official meetings in Central Asia, where he visited Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. Several comments appeared in the international press about the reasons for his presence in these three countries, where he discussed cooperation in the energy sector, the construction of chemical industries, and also in the health sector, education and training, among others.
In The Diplomat magazine, editor-in-chief Catherine Putz paid attention to statements by the first deputy director of the National Security Administration, Kim Tae-hyo, published in the Korea Herald on the eve of the presidential trip, in which he stated that Seoul “intends “connect their technical expertise with the economic development potential of Central Asia in a partnership based on trust and active collaboration.” In fact, the three main topics of the meetings were energy, technology and the manufacturing industry, and at the same time South Korea is carrying out the K-Silk Road initiative of strategic partnership with the Central Asians, an alternative to the Belt & Chinese Road.
Yoon Suk-yeol has informed his counterparts Serdar Berdymukhamedov, Kasym-Žomart Tokaev and Šavkat Mirziyoyev of his intention to hold a summit in Seoul in 2025 in the C5+1 format with the five countries of the region, as has already been done in Europe and America. According to Putz, this election “aims to place Korea on a scale similar to that of Germany and the United States,” accelerating the investment of resources and development projects by uniting the forces of all actors in an area of the world that is now the center of attention.
The Japanese agency Nikkei Asia believes that Yoon’s main interest is access to rare earth minerals, especially necessary for Korean semiconductor and battery manufacturers, those “critical raw materials” increasingly necessary due to the complexity of the transition energy. After the meeting with Tokaev in Astana, the signing of 35 large contracts in this area was reported, mainly in lithium research, marketing and supply chain and export.
According to Sean O’Malley, a professor at Dongseo University in Busan (South Korea), expanding diplomatic relations between Seoul and Central Asia can lead to very convenient agreements for both parties. “There are many advanced technology and infrastructure companies in Korea, whose investments would allow great development in Central Asian countries,” argues O’Malley, opening up access to the mining they need to Korean companies themselves.
This objective was also evident in Yoon Suk-yeol’s participation in the Tashkent business forum, with a visit to the U-Enter Center for Innovative Entrepreneurship, inaugurated last year with the support of the Korean International Cooperation Agency Koica , before traveling with his wife to see the Uzbek wonders of Samarkand.
Another expert, Kim Yoong-Hyun, professor at Handong Global University, is less optimistic about the fruits of the Korean president’s visit, which in his opinion “has not led to very concrete and decisive results,” so it will be necessary continue to deepen diplomatic relations and work hard to establish lasting agreements.
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