On 31 October, 2023, Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Rashid Meredov met with South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin, who is in Ashgabat on an official visit.
The two ministers discussed a wide range of bilateral cooperation issues, noting that Turkmenistan and South Korea attach special importance to further developing their partnership, which is traditionally based on long-term friendship, trust, and mutual understanding.
They emphasized that high-level contacts play a special role in expanding and strengthening bilateral ties.
Meredov recalled that on the sidelines of the 78th session of the UN General Assembly, President Serdar Berdimuhamedov and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol held talks, during which they underlined the high level of interstate partnership and exchanged views on pressing regional and international issues.
The ministers expressed a shared view on the importance of strengthening inter-parliamentary ties. They highlighted the landmark official visits of Turkmen National Leader Gurbanguly Berdimuhamedov to Seoul in November 2022 and South Korean National Assembly Speaker Kim Jin-pyo to Ashgabat in July 2023.
The parties noted their successful cooperation within international organizations, primarily the UN, and their high level of mutual support in ensuring peace, stability, and sustainable development.
They emphasized that the economic partnership between Turkmenistan and South Korea is strategic, sustainable, and long-term. They discussed priority areas of trade and economic cooperation, including:
- projects to create an industrial cluster in Arkadag
- projects of gas chemical plants
- purchase electric vehicles and buses
- investing in cutting-edge digital, information-communication, and other technologies for smart city construction
- use desalination and water conservation methods and technologies
- diversifying financing
- study the Korean experience in green and hydrogen energy
- establish modern high-tech industries focused on producing competitive products.
The parties praised the Intergovernmental Turkmen-Korean Commission on Trade, Economic, Scientific, and Technological Cooperation as an effective tool for expanding trade and economic ties.
They also identified education, science, Korean language learning, healthcare, and medicine as promising areas for cultural and humanitarian cooperation.
Highlighting the importance of cultural exchanges, the parties noted the successful holding of the Days of Turkmen Culture in Korea in March 2023, which coincided with the 300th anniversary of the birth of classical poet Magtymguly Fragi. They agreed on the importance of organizing the Korean Culture Week at a high level in Ashgabat in November 2023.
Following the meeting, the ministers signed the bilateral documents:
- Agreement on Trade and Economic Cooperation between the Government of Turkmenistan and the Government of the Republic of Korea
- Memorandum of Understanding between the Ministry of Health and Medical Industry of Turkmenistan, the School of Korean Medicine of Pusan National University, and the National Institute for the Development of Korean Medicine of the Republic of Korea
- Program of Cooperation for 2024-2025 between the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkmenistan and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea
During the official visit, the Turkmen State Medical University named after Myrat Garryev and the Korea University College of Medicine also signed a Memorandum of Understanding.///nCa, 1 November 2023
#Korea, #Turkmenistan, #economic_cooperation