South Korea and Central Asian nations establish first leaders' summit framework

South Korea and five Central Asian republics held their first heads-of-state summit in Seoul on Wednesday, adopting a 30-year cooperation framework targeting critical minerals, energy, supply chains and emerging technologies. The summit brought together South Korean President Lee Jae-myung with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan. The declaration establishes regular leader-level summits every two years and creates a new mechanism linking the six countries' industry ministers.

President Lee Jae-myung emphasised the historical significance of Central Asia as a bridge between East and West, stating that the "Silk Road spirit" that once connected people, technologies and cultures remains essential. The summit reflects complementary interests among the participants: South Korea seeks to diversify its supplies of critical materials for semiconductor, battery and electric vehicle production, while Central Asian governments aim to increase technology transfer, attract investment and develop manufacturing capacity based on their own natural resources.

Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev highlighted Central Asia's ambition to move beyond its traditional role as a supplier of raw materials, emphasising the region's desire for greater value-added production. The Seoul Declaration represents the formalisation of cooperation at the highest political level, building on dialogue initiated at the vice-ministerial level in 2007 and later elevated to ministerial level, as countries increasingly compete for control over critical supply chains.