President Moon Jae-in on Dec. 9 participated in the Summit for Democracy chaired online by U.S. President Joe Biden at Yeomingwan of Cheong Wa Dae. There, he expressed Korea's intent to help boost democracy worldwide. (Cheong Wa Dae's official Facebook)

By Xu Aiying and Lee Jihae

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev from Dec. 16-18 will pay a state visit to Korea at the invitation of President Moon Jae-in.

Cheong Wa Dae Spokesperson Park Kyung-mee on Dec. 9 told a briefing at Chunchugwan Press Center in Cheong Wa Dae that President Mirziyoyev's trip will reciprocate President Moon's state visit to Uzbekistan in 2019. She said both leaders will discuss boosting future-oriented and mutually beneficial cooperation ahead of the 30th anniversary of bilateral ties next year.

President Moon on Dec. 17 will hold a summit with President Mirziyoyev and a state banquet.

The two leaders will cover expanding practical cooperation in a number of sectors for better recovery in the post-COVID-19 era.

They will also discuss increasing cultural and human exchanges and strengthening bilateral cooperation on the international stage.

Spokesperson Park said President Mirziyoyev's visit will continue and strengthen Korea's amicable cooperative relations with Uzbekistan, a core cooperative partner in Korea's New Northern Policy. The occasion is also expected to elevate bilateral relations, which were upgraded in April 2019 to the level of a "special strategic partnership" during President Moon's visit to Uzbekistan.

President Moon on Dec. 9 also participated in the inaugural Summit for Democracy, which U.S. President Joe Biden held online. The Korean leader expressed his intent to help boost democracy worldwide.

President Moon gave a speech in the summit's first session "Leader's Plenary," which was chaired by President Biden. Twelve countries participated in the event.

President Moon said Korea will actively participate in efforts to boost democracy based on the country's successful model of democratization and economic development in the Asian region.

He also said Korea received a lot of help from the international community in overcoming in a half century the ravages of war, dictatorship and authoritarianism to develop into the world's most dynamic democracy.

Seoul will actively participate in and contribute to strengthening democracy, he added.

xuaiy@korea.kr