1. Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Jin will attend the 16^th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum to take place in the Turkmenian capital of Ashgabat on November 1.

2. The Forum will be co-hosted by the Korean and Turkmenian Ministries of Foreign Affairs and bring together the Foreign Ministers of the five Central Asian countries in their capacity as head delegates and about 200 experts, including in industrial, academic, private and public sectors, from Korea and the Central Asian countries. 

3. The Forum, themed "pursuing cooperation through the realization of youth's potentials for a sustainable future of Korea and Central Asia,” will cover ways for Korea-Central Asia cooperation in the areas of transportation and logistics, public healthcare and pharmaceuticals, climate change and environment, information and communications technology (ICT), education and science, and tourism.

4. On the sidelines of the Forum, Foreign Minister Park will have bilateral meetings with his counterparts from the Central Asian countries and exchange views with them on bilateral relations, substantive cooperation, regional affairs and Korea’s bid to host World Expo 2030 in Busan.

5. Foreign Minister Park will take the opportunity of the Forum to make the first official visit to Turkmenistan by a Korean Foreign Minister since the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1992. He will pay a courtesy call on the President of Turkmenistan and have a meeting with the Minister of Foreign Affairs to closely discuss ways to further cooperate in various sectors, including energy and plants, transportation infrastructure and public healthcare.

6. Foreign Minister Park’s visit to Turkmenistan is expected to serve as a good opportunity to further strengthen Korea-Central Asia relations and to explore ways for mutually beneficial cooperation.