1. The Foreign Ministry will hold the Seventh Cooperation Forum between the Republic of Korea and Central Asia in Bishkek, Kyrgyz, on October 4.

° The Forum will bring together some 200 delegates from the ROK and five Central Asian countries, – Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyz, Turkmenistan and Tajikistan – including government officials and business and academic figures led by the Vice Foreign Ministers of those countries. The ROK delegation will be headed by First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Kim Kyou-hyun.

* The ROK-Central Asia Cooperation Forum is the consultative mechanism between the ROK and the five countries in Central Asia convened regularly since 2007 led by their Foreign Ministries. The aim of the Forum is to promote cooperation in economy, education, science and culture and to build a cooperative network among their governments, and businesses and academias.

2. At the Forum, the ROK and the Central Asian countries will discuss ways to expand bilateral cooperation in a substantive and productive manner. The new ROK government will put into full gear its trust-based diplomacy with Central Asia aimed at shared prosperity and reciprocity in order to boost cooperation with Eurasia.

° The head delegates from the six countries will hold a special session to discuss ways to lay an institutional groundwork for expanding substantial cooperation between the ROK and Central Asia as well as the development direction of the Forum.

° In view of the need of the Central Asian countries to pursue economic development and industrial diversification, the Forum will cover the fields of textile, railroad and forestry, where the ROK and the Central Asian countries can promote win-win cooperation. The two sides will discuss specific ways to implement projects in each of the sectors.

3. On the sidelines of the Forum, the ROK will hold bilateral meetings with the Central Asian countries as well as a meeting of the heads of the ROK’s diplomatic missions in Central Asia. In the bilateral meetings, the two sides will hold comprehensive discussions on bilateral and multilateral issues as well as ways to expand their substantive cooperation. Various cultural events will also take place to enhance mutual understanding between the two sides.

° At the meeting of the heads of the ROK’s diplomatic missions in Central Asia on October 3, the ROK Ambassadors to the five aforementioned countries will engage in in-depth discussions on: ways to expand the ROK’s presence in the region, whose strategic importance is growing; and country-specific strategies for expanding cooperation with Eurasia by drawing upon their experience in those countries. On October 4, the ROK’s Vice Foreign Minister will hold bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the five Central Asian countries.

° Prior to the meetings, as side events of the Forum, the opening ceremony of the Korea Center will take place at the National Library of Kyrgyz on October 3 and the ROK-Central Asia video forum on October 2.

4. During the Forum, the ROK will make efforts to win the understanding and support from the Central Asian countries on its new government’s policy task to “boost cooperation with Eurasia.” In addition, the two sides will engage in full-fledged discussions on the future direction of the Forum in a way that facilitates the systematic management and implementation of substantive cooperation projects between them. In this vein, the Cooperation Forum, the first multilateral diplomatic event with Central Asia since the launch of the Park Geun-hye government, is expected to serve as an important opportunity to upgrade the cooperative ties between the ROK and Central Asia to a higher level.

° The Forum’s host Kyrgyz is showing a keen interest in the event, as demonstrated by the participation of the ministerial- and vice-ministerial-level officials of its key government agencies in the preparations for the Forum. Such interest is expected to help enhance the standing of the Forum.

° The upcoming ROK-Central Asia Cooperation Forum will be the second of its kind to be held in Central Asia. The Forum is expected to be hosted by the two sides on a rotational basis, contributing to the ROK’s balanced diplomacy with Central Asia. 


                   Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFA

* unofficial translation