BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 16. The first-ever Central Asia-Republic of Korea summit, to be held in Seoul on September 16–17, reflects the region's growing economic weight and expanding cooperation in technology, investment, industry and emerging supply chains.
The meeting between the leaders of the five Central Asian countries and South Korea comes as the region's economic potential continues to expand. Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan are steadily developing their industrial sectors, attracting foreign investment, upgrading infrastructure and broadening their international economic ties.
These developments are driven in large part by the priorities set by the leaders of Central Asian countries, who are focusing on economic diversification, industrial development, technology adoption and greater investment cooperation. Against this backdrop, ties with South Korea are gradually moving beyond individual bilateral projects toward a broader regional framework.
The combined GDP of the five Central Asian countries exceeded $500 billion in 2025. Kazakhstan's economy surpassed the $300 billion mark for the first time, while Uzbekistan's GDP reached about $150 billion. Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan recorded economic growth of 11.1% and 8.4%, respectively. Turkmenistan's GDP reached $77.4 billion, with the economy growing by 6.3%.
For South Korea, Central Asia is of interest primarily as a source of critical minerals and other resources, as well as a growing market and potential base for manufacturing and logistics projects. For the countries of the region, Korean technology and expertise are particularly relevant to industry, energy, artificial intelligence, digitalization, transport and raw-material processing.
The economic foundation of ties between the two regions is also expanding. According to one estimate, trade between the five Central Asian countries and South Korea reached $5.7 billion in 2025, up 1.7 times from 2017.
Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan account for the bulk of Central Asia's economic ties with South Korea, representing about 87% of the region's total trade with Seoul.
Kazakhstan remains one of South Korea's largest economic partners in Central Asia. According to Kazakhstan's Ministry of Industry and Construction, bilateral trade reached $1.3 billion in the first half of 2026.
At the same time, economic cooperation is moving beyond trade. The Kazakhstan-South Korea industrial project portfolio has grown to 51 joint projects, 23 of which have already been launched. The projects have created about 4,400 jobs.
New agreements were reached on September 15 at the Kazakhstan-Korea Business Council. The two sides signed about 80 agreements worth a total of $19 billion, including $11 billion in projects involving the Samruk-Kazyna sovereign wealth fund.
The agreements include the construction of a gas processing plant with Hyundai Engineering, the expansion of the Pavlodar Petrochemical Plant with Samsung E&A, the construction of a 1,000-megawatt combined heat and power plant with Doosan Enerbility, joint drilling at the Bakkenoye lithium deposit with the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), and a memorandum with POSCO on rare-earth processing.
Cooperation is therefore gradually shifting from trade in finished products toward joint industrial projects, energy and the processing of mineral resources.
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev has repeatedly stressed the strategic nature of the country's relations with Seoul. "The Republic of Korea is a strategic partner of Kazakhstan. We view Korea as a country that enjoys high standing on the international stage. Our multifaceted cooperation is growing stronger every year," Tokayev said during his state visit to Seoul, where he presented state awards to prominent South Korean figures.
Speaking about South Korea's development, the Kazakh leader also highlighted the role of economic policy, hard work and major businesses in shaping the country's economic model. "The Korean economy has been developing successfully, overcoming competition and challenges. This has been made possible by the hard work of its people and the efforts of major businesses. The people of Kazakhstan and its authorities have sincere respect for friendly Korea," Tokayev said.
Uzbekistan is another key economic partner for South Korea in the region. More than 700 companies with Korean capital operate in the country, while the portfolio of prospective projects ahead of the summit is estimated at about $12 billion.
The two sides have also agreed on an $8 billion strategic partnership program with the Export-Import Bank of Korea. The new agreements cover critical minerals, transport, industry, artificial intelligence, biotechnology, healthcare and other areas.
Specific projects include the delivery of additional high-speed trains by Hyundai Rotem, expanded cooperation on critical minerals, the establishment of a national genomics center and biobank, as well as industrial AI and robotics projects.
Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev has described South Korea as a reliable friend and one of the country's most important economic partners. "The Republic of Korea has become a reliable friend and one of the most important economic partners of our country over the years," Mirziyoyev said during talks with South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.
He also stressed the need to further expand investment cooperation. "We hope to reach breakthrough agreements on expanding investment cooperation," the Uzbek president said, calling for a "joint push for development" through technology, investment and human capital.
Cooperation on critical minerals is becoming an important part of the new economic agenda. Central Asia has significant reserves of uranium, rare-earth metals and other resources that are important for modern manufacturing supply chains.
At the same time, the countries of the region are seeking to develop not only resource extraction but also processing. For South Korea, this creates an opportunity to diversify its supply chains, while for Central Asia it provides an avenue to attract technology and capital for higher-value-added production.
Kazakhstan is already discussing lithium and rare-earth projects with Korean companies. Uzbekistan has also identified critical minerals as one of five key areas of cooperation with Seoul.
For Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, the summit creates additional opportunities to develop joint projects with South Korea in trade, investment, infrastructure, digitalization and human capital development.
In Kyrgyzstan, a trade and investment cooperation agreement was signed on September 15 between the country's Ministry of Economy and Commerce and South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
According to the South Korean ambassador to Bishkek, bilateral trade reached $3.4 billion in 2025.
Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov has previously described the Republic of Korea as one of his country's priority partners in the Asia-Pacific region. "I fully support the K-Silk Road initiative aimed at expanding ties between our regions. Holding a summit of the presidents of our countries will be an important step toward further deepening political and economic cooperation at the highest level," Japarov said.
Tajikistan, meanwhile, sees investment, digitalization, education, infrastructure and human capital development as key areas for expanding relations with South Korea.
Tajik President Emomali Rahmon has previously highlighted the role of the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in implementing socioeconomic projects in Tajikistan. Talks with the South Korean side have also covered digitalization, industrialization, investment, education and labor migration. "We regard the Republic of Korea as an important partner of ours on the international stage. Strengthening and expanding relations of friendship and broad-based constructive cooperation with it remains a constant focus of our attention," Rahmon said.
Turkmenistan, for its part, offers significant potential for cooperation on major industrial and infrastructure projects. In 2025, Daewoo Engineering & Construction secured a $784 million contract to build a mineral fertilizer plant in Turkmenabat.
On September 15, during Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedov's state visit to South Korea ahead of the summit, the two countries signed an investment protection agreement, as well as documents covering industry, infrastructure, customs cooperation and intellectual property. A total of 13 documents were signed.
President Serdar Berdimuhamedov has previously highlighted the importance of the country's partnership with Seoul. "The Republic of Korea is one of our close partners, and productive relations with it are steadily developing," Berdimuhamedov said.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung highlighted the potential to combine Turkmenistan's resource base with South Korean technology. "Building on Turkmenistan's abundant resources and the technology and expertise of the Republic of Korea, we will open up new horizons for cooperation," Lee said.
The economic agenda of the first summit is therefore shaped not only by trade volumes but also by a shift toward more sophisticated forms of cooperation, including joint manufacturing, resource processing, technology localization, digitalization and the development of regional supply chains.
For the leaders of Central Asian countries, the summit is also an opportunity to present the region as a combined market and production base rather than simply a group of separate national economies. Rising GDP, increased investment flows and industrial development are creating greater room for projects that require larger markets and long-term commitments.
The Central Asia-Republic of Korea format has existed at the ministerial level since 2007, but the 2026 summit is the first to bring cooperation to the level of heads of state. The agenda includes critical minerals and supply chains, energy, artificial intelligence and digitalization, infrastructure and logistics, innovation, climate and water resources.
The move to a leaders' summit shows that the economic foundation built over previous years has now gained a high-level political platform for further development. For Central Asia, this reflects the results of economic reforms pursued by its leaders and the opening of new avenues for international partnerships. For South Korea, it offers an opportunity to strengthen its position in a fast-growing region with significant resources and an expanding market.
The first Central Asia-Republic of Korea summit will test how effectively the new format can turn growing economic interest into long-term projects in industry, technology, energy, transport and resource processing.
