It is a high privilege for me to address today the esteemed readers of The Korea Herald on the occasions of the 30th anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence and 29th anniversary of establishment of diplomatic relations with the Republic of Korea.

After gaining independence, Uzbekistan took a worthy place in the world community. Over the years, a great creative work has been carried out. Human honor and dignity are exalted, the well-being of people is ensured, appearance of our cities and villages has radically changed.

Today, Uzbekistan is demonstrating a steady pace of development in all spheres under the leadership of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev. Effective multilateral foreign policy serves as an important factor of increasing the export potential and expanding economic opportunities of Uzbekistan.


The foundation of bilateral relations between our states was laid on Dec. 30, 1991, when the Republic of Korea among the first countries recognized Uzbekistan’s independence. Subsequently, the diplomatic relations were established on Jan. 29, 1992.

The Republic of Korea is one of Uzbekistan’s most reliable and time-tested strategic partners, as well as leading and largest investors in our Republic.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations between our countries, 16 meetings have been held at the level of heads of state.

I especially want to note that the historic State visit of President Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Republic of Korea, which was held on Nov. 22-24, 2017, determined new prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation.

Within the framework of the visit, more than 60 documents worth more than $10 billion were signed in trade and economic, investment, financial, technical and other spheres. Of these, $4.5 billion is direct Korean investment.

Dozens of major projects have been implemented and are being implemented in various sectors of the economy with investments from leading South Korean companies. They include Surgil gas processing complex, textile factories in Fergana and Bukhara, Hyundai automobile manufacturing plant in Namangan, the largest in the region, and many other projects.

In further advancing and deepening bilateral cooperation, regular dialogue between the leaders of the two countries that has become one of the hallmarks of Uzbek-Korean bilateral relations, played an important role.

At the invitation of President Mirziyoyev, President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-In paid state visit to our country on April 18-21, 2019. The fruitful negotiations of the heads of state was followed by the signing ceremony of bilateral documents took place.

Presidents Shavkat Mirziyoyev and Moon Jae-In signed a Joint Declaration on Special Strategic Partnership between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea.

On 28 January, the President Mirziyoyev held a meeting with the President Moon via videoconference.

The agreement on conducting the current summit was reached during the latest contacts of the two leaders in October last year.

The agenda of today’s negotiations included the acute issues of development and strengthening Uzbekistan – Korea centuries-long friendship and special strategic partnership.

Opening up the event and warmly greeting one another, the heads of states have underscored that this meeting is the first summit for both sides this new year. This once again testifies about the highest level of bilateral cooperation.

As it was emphasized, despite the consequences of pandemics, the multifaceted relationship between Uzbekistan and Korea continued to dynamically develop. Last year the leaders of the countries have held two telephone conversations and jointly participated in the International Forum for Northern Economic Cooperation.

On May 30, President Mirziyoyev, at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in, took part in the Second International Summit “Partnership for Green Growth and Global Goals 2030” (P4G), in Seoul, via videoconference.

The agenda of the two-day forum includes issues of overcoming the consequences of climate change, green recovery and ensuring carbon neutrality, as well as the achievement of the UN Sustainable Development Goals and the implementation of the provisions of the Paris Climate Agreement.

On April 6, President Shavkat Mirziyoyev received a delegation of the National Assembly of the Republic of Korea led by the Speaker Park Byeong-seug.

The high-profile Korean delegation included, alongside the speaker, six deputies – members of parliamentary committees covering priority areas: public administration, financial policy, industry, trade, energy, transport, agriculture, ecology, health care, labor relations, culture, sports and tourism.

The topical issues of the bilateral and regional agenda were considered at the conversation. A special emphasis was laid on the important role of parliaments in strengthening the relations of friendship and special strategic partnerships between the Republic of Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea.

The President noted with great satisfaction the ongoing active exchanges and the dynamic development of the Uzbek-Korean full-scale interactions. At the beginning of this year, the online summit of the leaders of the two countries was successfully held.

Park Byeong-seug, having expressed deep gratitude for a warm welcome, conveyed sincere greetings and best wishes on behalf of the President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in to the leader of Uzbekistan.

It was noted at the meeting that in the conditions of the challenging global economic situation, the volume of mutual trade is being maintained. The new investment projects portfolio for amount over $3 billion has been prepared with the participation of high-profile Korean companies and banks. In general, the volume of investments from the Republic of Korea exceeded $7 billion.

A gratitude was also expressed for a profound practical assistance of Korean partners in combating the coronavirus pandemic in Uzbekistan.

Further strengthening of cooperation between the two countries is facilitated by consistently developing cultural and humanitarian ties, especially in the areas of education, medicine, tourism and sports.

All-in-all, over the past 29 years since the establishment of diplomatic relations Tashkent and Seoul have forged a genuine strategic partnership and currently are closely cooperating with each other in further advancing multifaceted cooperation in various fields and strengthening mutually beneficial bilateral relations that serve the interest of the two countries and their peoples.

In conclusion, taking this opportunity, I would like to wish to the esteemed readers of this reputed magazine every success in all their endeavors, longevity and well-being.

By Vitaliy Fen

Ambassador Extraordinary of Uzbekistan to the Republic of Korea