Korea and Central Asia Adopt "Seoul Declaration"... Biennial Summit and Cooperation on Critical Minerals Agreed

Lee Adopts Seoul Declaration with Five Central Asian States on the 16th
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Trade Diversification and Removal of Non-Tariff Barriers Agreed
Central Asia Voices Support for Korea’s Pu

President Lee Jae-myung and the presidents of the five Central Asian nations adopted the "Seoul Declaration" on September 16. The heads of state agreed to regularize the Korea-Central Asia Summit and to seek cooperation on critical minerals.

According to the Office of the President on September 16, President Lee held a multilateral meeting in Seoul with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan, and together they adopted the Seoul Declaration.

President Lee Jae-myung delivers the opening remarks at the 1st Korea-Central Asia Summit of 2026 held at a hotel in Seoul on September 16, 2026. Photo by Yonhap News Agency

The Seoul Declaration was developed based on four joint cooperation visions: ▲ institutionalization of the Korea-Central Asia partnership ▲ working together toward peace and stability ▲ a future of innovation and prosperity ▲ connections through people and trust.

In terms of partnership, the declaration states that the Korea-Central Asia Summit will be held on a regular basis every two years. In years when the summit does not take place, ministerial-level meetings will be convened to review progress and prepare the agenda for the next summit. Kazakhstan expressed its interest in hosting the second summit in 2028, and the other nations also agreed.

In the economic sector, the countries agreed to enhance mutually beneficial and practical cooperation. Korea and the five Central Asian nations decided to diversify trade by expanding trade items, to promote trade and investment by pursuing agreements on eliminating non-tariff barriers, and to establish "Korean Desks" in each Central Asian country to help resolve business challenges faced by companies.

Furthermore, the leaders expressed interest in combining Central Asia's abundant critical mineral resources with Korea's advanced technology and establishing a joint value-added production network. In the energy industry, they agreed to pursue strategic cooperation in the oil and gas sector, joint projects for advanced processing of natural gas, and the modernization of energy infrastructure, including hydropower.

Through the Seoul Declaration, Korea and the Central Asian countries also agreed to strengthen the foundation for security cooperation. The leaders reaffirmed their commitment to the complete denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula and the establishment of lasting peace.

In particular, the Central Asian leaders expressed their support for Korea's efforts to resume inter-Korean dialogue through proactive tension reduction and confidence-building measures, with the goal of achieving peaceful coexistence and shared prosperity on the Korean Peninsula through expanded inter-Korean exchange, normalization of relations, and a phased approach to denuclearization.

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