President Lee: "Meaningful to Establish Comprehensive Partnership with Tajikistan"

Summit with President Rahmon... First Visit to Korea in 11 Years

"A Reliable Partner"... Expanding Cooperation in Railways, Critical Minerals, and Digital Technology

President Lee Jae-myung held a summit with President Emomali Rahmon of Tajikistan on the 16th and stated, "It is very meaningful that the two countries have established a comprehensive partnership on the occasion of the first visit to Korea in 11 years." The two leaders agreed to expand practical cooperation in areas such as railways, critical minerals, and digital technology, and to elevate bilateral relations to a higher level.

Emomali Rahmon, President of Tajikistan, is speaking at the summit meeting with President Lee Jae-myung held at the Blue House on the 16th. September 16, 2026 Yonhap News Photo by Yonhap News

At the opening remarks of the Korea-Tajikistan summit held at the Blue House on the morning of the 16th, President Lee welcomed President Rahmon and the Tajik delegation and made the above remarks.

Korea and Tajikistan have maintained friendly and cooperative relations since establishing diplomatic ties in 1992. This is the first visit by President Rahmon to Korea in 11 years. The visit was arranged in conjunction with the first Korea-Central Asia summit being held later in the afternoon.

President Lee highlighted Tajikistan’s geopolitical value and growth potential. He stated, "For our people, Tajikistan is known as the country with the majestic Pamir Plateau, often called the 'roof of the world.' It is also recognized as a key geographic hub connecting Central and South Asia, and I am very interested in the strengths and growth potential of Tajikistan, which possesses abundant mineral resources."

He added, "Korea, as a reliable partner, will actively cooperate for Tajikistan's economic development. I hope that our two countries will further expand mutually beneficial cooperation in areas such as railways, critical minerals, and digital technology."

During this summit, the two countries focused on strengthening the substance of their cooperation, especially in economic and industrial fields. In particular, they are expected to expand collaboration by linking Tajikistan's mineral resources with Korea's industrial and technological capabilities, broadening cooperation in securing critical mineral supply chains, and seeking further opportunities in infrastructure, including railways, and in digital sectors.

President Rahmon also emphasized the need for a leap forward in bilateral relations. He noted, "Strengthening cooperation with Korea is one of the key priorities in Tajikistan’s foreign economic policy," adding, "Today’s summit will be an excellent opportunity to review the current state of bilateral cooperation and discuss future exchanges."

He went on to mention next year’s 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and Tajikistan, stating, "I believe it is important to further build an institutional foundation to elevate bilateral cooperation to a new level of partnership." He also highlighted the necessity of strengthening the institutional foundation that supports bilateral cooperation, such as inter-parliamentary exchanges.

This summit was one of President Lee’s series of bilateral diplomatic events ahead of the first Korea-Central Asia summit. President Lee is meeting successively with the leaders of the five Central Asian countries to build cooperation frameworks in areas such as critical mineral supply chains, energy, infrastructure, and digital technology.

The government plans to use this summit as an opportunity to upgrade the Korea-Central Asia cooperation framework—previously ministerial-level—to the summit level and to adopt the "Seoul Declaration" outlining a mid- to long-term cooperation vision with the five Central Asian nations.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.