South Korea has agreed to support Uzbekistan’s development of photovoltaic power stations that will include a joint project to identify the best sites for new solar energy farms in the Central Asian nation, the government said Thursday.

Under a memorandum of understanding signed Thursday, Seoul and Tashkent will jointly set up and operate a test site for solar energy farms with South Korea also providing technological support.

The agreement comes as Uzbekistan is soon expected to launch its first project to build a solar power station in Samarkand, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

“The MOU for cooperation in the development of solar energy is expected to help strengthen the strategic relationship between South Korea and Uzbekistan while also creating a favorable environment for South Korean firms to take part in Uzbekistan’s solar energy market,” the ministry said in a press release.

The Uzbek project, said to be worth at least $200 million, seeks to build a power station that can generate 100 megawatts of electricity. By 2030, the country plans to build new solar energy farms that generate 4 gigawatts of electricity worth over $11 billion in total, according to the ministry. (Yonhap News)