1. Deputy Foreign Minister for Political Affairs Kim Hong-kyun and Deputy Foreign Minister for Asia-Pacific affairs Gayrat Fazilov of Uzbekistan held the 12th deputy-minister-level policy consultation between the Republic of Korea and Uzbekistan in Tashkent on December 11. In the meeting, the two sides engaged in an extensive exchange of views on the advances in the bilateral relations; ways to boost substantive cooperation; the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in Central Asia; and ways to work together on the international stage.

2. The two sides noted with appreciation that the two countries are seeing their relations develop into strategic partnership based on the solid trust between their leaders, which can be seen from the 14 rounds of summit talks held since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. They welcomed the expansion of the scope of mutually-beneficial cooperation to include energy, infrastructure, transportation, logistics, information and communications technology, public security, health and medical care.

3. In particular, the two sides, noting the recent successful completion of the Surgil gas project, agreed to work closely together for a timely completion of the ongoing large-scale substantive cooperation projects.

◦ Deputy Minister Fazilov welcomed the steady increase in bilateral trade and investment, saying that the Uzbek government will fully support the expansion of Korean companies’ presence in Uzbekistan.

◦ Deputy Minister Kim mentioned the ROK’s plan to continue development cooperation projects with Uzbekistan, a main partner of the ROK’s official development assistance (ODA), in various fields, including education, healthcare and public administration. Deputy Minister Fazilov, extending appreciation to the ROK for its development assistance, voiced hope to continue close cooperation with the ROK for a smooth implementation of the memorandum of understanding for grants and loans, which had been concluded at the summit talks in May 2015.

4. The two sides agreed to work closely together to further strengthen the institutional basis for the ROK-Central Asia multilateral cooperation through the ROK-Central Asia Cooperation Secretariat, set to be formally launched during the tenth minister-level Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum in Seoul in 2016.

5. Deputy Minister Kim explained the current situation on the Korean Peninsula, extending appreciation to the Uzbek government for its consistent support for the ROK’s peaceful unification initiative, Northeast Asia Peace and Cooperation Initiative and Eurasia Initiative. Deputy Minister Fazilov reaffirmed support for the ROK government’s efforts to achieve a peaceful unification of the Korean Peninsula and explained the situation in Uzbekistan’s neighboring region, including Afghanistan.

6. On a side note, during his visit to Uzbekistan, Deputy Minister Kim paid courtesy calls on First Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance Rustam Azimov and Foreign Minister Abdulaziz Kamilov.

◦ Deputy Prime Minister Azimov, calling the ongoing robust substantive cooperation between the ROK and Uzbekistan a driving force of the mutually-beneficial bilateral relations, asked Korean companies to take an active part in the course of the privatization of Uzbekistan’s public enterprises.

◦ Foreign Minister Kamilov, describing the ROK as a highly important partner for not only bilateral but also international cooperation, including for the stabilization of Afghanistan, conveyed hope for close cooperation between the ROK and Central Asia, including through the ROK-Central Asia Cooperation Forum.

7. The 12th ROK-Uzbekistan policy consultation is seen to have served as a significant opportunity to review the progress in the implementation of the follow-up measures to the bilateral summit talks held in May 2015 and to increase the momentum for cooperation across the board, including political affairs, economy and culture, with Uzbekistan -- the ROK’s strategic partner and largest trading partner in Central Asia, the key region for cooperation on the ROK’s Eurasia Initiative.


* unofficial translation