In celebration of 25 years of diplomatic relations, Korea and five Central Asian countries have come together to build a framework to further strengthen their partnership.

On Nov. 15, Minister of Foreign Affairs Yun Byung-se held a meeting with five high-ranking officials from Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan to discuss cooperation between Korea and Central Asia, and the state of affairs on the Korean Peninsula.

The delegation was in Korea on the occasion of the 10th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum, and included Kyrgyzstani Deputy Foreign Minister Kemelova Dinara, Tajikistani Deputy Foreign Minister Zohidi Nizomiddin, Turkmen Deputy Foreign Minister Hadjiyev Vepa, Uzbekistani Deputy Foreign Minister Fazilov Gayrat and Kazakhstani Director General Bakayev Alibek of the Foreign Affairs Department for Asian Cooperation.



During the meeting, Minister Yun said that relations between Korea and Central Asia were of great importance for the Eurasia Initiative. As 2017 marks 25 years of diplomatic relations between Korea and Central Asia, and 80 years since ethnically Korean Goryeoin people were settled across Russia and in Central Asia, he expressed hope that the countries would further bolster cooperation. Moreover, with the launch of the secretariat for the Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum in 2017, the minister said that he hopes to see a diversification in the initiatives handled by the countries.

The minister brought the North Korean nuclear weapons problem to the table, too, and thanked the five Central Asian countries for showing support for Korea's policies in dealing with North Korea. He asked that the countries continue to stand by Korea on the issue. To this, the five officials unanimously said that North Korea's nuclear provocations violate U.N. Security Council resolutions, and pose a serious threat to the Korean Peninsula, Northeast Asia and the world at large. The officials agreed to support Korea's efforts to resolve the North Korean nuclear weapons issue.





Ahead of the meeting with the foreign minister, the Central Asian officials attended the 10th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul. Around 200 domestic and international guests were at the event.

During the Korea-Central Asia deputy minister meeting, which took place on the sidelines of the forum, the countries officially announced the 2017 launch of the secretariat for the Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum. Secretariat headquarters will be set up at the Korea Foundation, and the countries will be expanding cooperation on a variety of projects, covering areas such as medicine, tourism, arts & culture, youth leadership forums, and water management.

By Lee Hana
Korea.net Staff Writer
Photos: Ministry of Foreign Affairs
hlee10@korea.kr