Uzbekistan is seeking Korean finance and technology for critical minerals, advanced manufacturing and infrastructure.
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Uzbekistan → seek → minerals
Mirziyoyev’s visit comes ahead of Wednesday’s first C5+Korea leaders’ summit.
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visit → come → summit
Nearly $12bn (€10.4bn) in prospective projects is giving new economic weight to ties between Uzbekistan and South Korea, a relationship Seoul already classifies as a Special Strategic Partnership, its only one with a Central Asian country.
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Seoul → give → country
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev is in Seoul ahead of Wednesday’s first C5+Korea leaders’ summit, with bilateral talks focused on investment, technology and industrial cooperation.
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talks → focus → investment
The latest discussions have also produced a new $8bn (€6.9bn) cooperation programme with Korea Eximbank, while agreements signed or exchanged during the visit cover critical minerals, AI in manufacturing, transport, healthcare and other sectors.
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agreements → produce → manufacturing
The economic agreements were accompanied by a broader political push during Mirziyoyev’s summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
Lee called Uzbekistan a “precious friend and a key partner” while Mirziyoyev noted that the relationship had proved resilient over time.
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relationship → accompany → time
“Our bilateral ties do not falter with political changes,” he said, while reaffirming Uzbekistan’s support for Seoul’s efforts to promote peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
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he → falter → Peninsula
The talks also covered deeper military-technical cooperation, including training and closer contacts between the two countries’ defence institutions.
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talks → cover → institutions
Mirziyoyev also met Prime Minister Han Seong-sook on Tuesday, with talks covering trade, investment, the digital economy and cybersecurity.
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Mirziyoyev → meet → trade
They also discussed processing critical minerals using Korean technology and Uzbekistan’s raw-material base, as well as cooperation on transport and railway infrastructure.
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They → discuss → transport
Critical minerals move to the centre
Critical minerals are one of the clearest strategic areas of cooperation.
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minerals → move → cooperation
Uzbekistan plans 120 projects worth more than $4bn (€3.5bn) in the sector in the coming years.
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Uzbekistan → plan → years
But Tashkent’s pitch is not simply about giving Korean companies access to new deposits.
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pitch → give → deposits
President Mirziyoyev said at a business forum that the priority was not simply to export raw materials, outlining plans to build full production chains inside Uzbekistan, from deep processing to finished high-tech products.
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priority → say → products
South Korea has its own strategic interest: its automotive, electronics and battery industries depend on secure supplies of critical materials.
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industries → have → materials
The two countries now plan to expand cooperation through their existing Korea-Uzbekistan Rare Metals Center, a joint project developing technology for refining and processing high-purity metals.
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countries → plan → metals
Seoul says cooperation will cover the full chain from exploration and development to processing.
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cooperation → say → processing
A joint fund for strategic critical-mineral projects has also been launched, while the two sides are considering a centre to develop and test semiconductors and new materials.
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sides → launch → semiconductors
For Uzbekistan, the aim is to keep more of the value generated from its resources at home.
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aim → keep → home
For South Korea, the partnership offers another route to diversify critical-mineral supply chains.
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partnership → offer → chains
Uzbek President Mirziyoyev also met Korea Eximbank chairman Hwang Ki-yeon in Seoul, with financing for critical minerals, digital technologies, transport and healthcare among the projects discussed.
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Mirziyoyev → meet → projects
Under a financing framework agreed with Uzbekistan’s investment ministry, Korea Eximbank will help identify prospective projects and assess financing options in six priority areas, including critical minerals, AI and data centres, smart cities, an industrial zone for Korean companies, pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
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Eximbank → agree → companies
The mechanism is intended to help move projects from the planning stage towards financing and implementation.
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mechanism → intend → financing
From assembly to local production
Shavkat Mirziyoyev used a series of meetings with senior Korean executives to push for more production to move inside Uzbekistan.
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Mirziyoyev → use → Uzbekistan
He met Kim Seong, Hyundai Motor Group’s president for strategy, and Kia Motors senior vice-president Cho Sang-woon to discuss expanding the automotive cluster in Jizzakh, increasing local production of components, introducing new Kia models and exploring the assembly of electric and hybrid vehicles.
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He → meet → vehicles
He described the broader objective at the business forum as a shift from assembly operations towards full-cycle industrial clusters.
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He → describe → clusters
Korean companies were also invited into copper processing, electrical equipment, robotics, automation, battery storage and grid modernisation.
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companies → invite → processing
Uzbekistan wants its electrical engineering industry to reach $11bn by 2030, with exports reaching $5bn.
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exports → want → 5bn
He met Hyundai Rotem chairman Lee Yong-bae to discuss further rail cooperation, including a service centre in Uzbekistan, localisation of railway components and production of magnets for electric motors.
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He → meet → motors
The two governments signed a memorandum for a South Korean-funded feasibility study on the possible acquisition of up to eight additional high-speed trainsets.
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governments → sign → trainsets
In aviation, Mirziyoyev met representatives of Incheon International Airport Corporation, which is involved in plans to modernise Urgench airport and develop a new international airport for Tashkent.
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which → meet → Tashkent
The company also plans to establish a representative office in the Uzbek capital.
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company → plan → capital
Beyond business and politics
President Mirziyoyev also met members of the Uzbek community living and working in South Korea, including entrepreneurs, academics and specialists.
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Mirziyoyev → meet → entrepreneurs
The visit also highlighted the cultural ties between the two countries.
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visit → highlight → countries
During his summit with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung, Mirziyoyev described Uzbekistan’s ethnic Korean community as a “spiritual bridge” between the two countries.
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Mirziyoyev → describe → countries
The two leaders also agreed to designate 2027 as a Year of Culture and Exchanges.
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leaders → agree → Culture
The visit is also being accompanied by Days of Uzbek Culture in Seoul and other South Korean cities, adding a cultural dimension to the political and economic programme.
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visit → accompany → programme
The Aporia
