Korea, Uzbekistan enter new partnership era

Korea, Uzbekistan enter new partnership era

President Lee Myung-bak, left, and Uzbek President Islam Karimov walk together after inspecting the guard of honor during Lee’s visit to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, in August 2011. / Courtesy of the Uzbek Embassy Uzbek Ambassador to Korea Vitali Fen contributed the following article to The Korea Times on the occasion of Uzbek’s 21st anniversary of Independence, which falls on Saturday. ― ED. It is a high privilege for me to address today the esteemed readers of The Korea Times on the occasion of the 21st anniversary of Uzbekistan’s independence. This year’s celebration coincides with an important landmark between Uzbekistan and the Republic of Korea – 20th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the two countries. The foundation of bilateral relations was laid on Dec. 30, 1991, when Korea among the first countries recognized Uzbekistan’s independence. The diplomatic relations were established on Jan. 29, 1992. The two countries have been engaged in political dialogues vigorously. The intensity of close cooperation can be manifested by the fact that over the past 21 years there have been 11 summit meetings between our heads of state. In March of 2006 during the state visit to the Republic of Korea by President of the Republic of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov, a Joint Declaration on Strategic Partnership was signed contributing to furthering and strengthening multifaceted Uzbek-Korean relations and elevating existing ties to a new qualitative level. The state visit by President of the Republic of Korea Lee Myung-bak to Uzbekistan in August 2011 became an important step in the process of furthering Uzbek-Korean diversified relations and filled them with practical content of strategic partnership between our nations. Over the 21 years of diplomatic relations, we have laid a solid legal basis for bilateral cooperation which today encompasses more than 200 documents that streamline collaboration in different fields. Uzbekistan and South Korea on the basis of reciprocity render support on various important regional and international issues. In particular, Uzbekistan welcomed the outcome of the G-20 summit that Seoul hosted in November of 2010 and Seoul Nuclear Summit. These events have testified strengthening role and influence of Korea on the world arena. Uzbekistan, as an initiator of establishing the Central Asian Nuclear-Weapon-Free Zone, strongly supports a non-nuclear status for the Korean Peninsula. In this context, it entirely supports a diplomatic solution of the nuclear issue of North Korea in the framework of the six-party talks. Our countries are interested in quick stabilization of the situation in Afghanistan and believe that implementation of various international projects and programs of the post-conflict social-economic rehabilitation of Afghanistan nowadays acquire especial importance. In Tashkent we welcome the commitment of the government of Korea made at Chicago NATO summit last May about continuation technical and financial assistance to Afghanistan. We have achieved a notable success in the area of promoting inter-parliamentary cooperation. In 1995, in the National Assembly of Korea a Parliamentary Association of Friendship “Korea-Uzbekistan” was founded. In 2005, in the Legislative Chamber of the Oliy Majlis of the Republic of Uzbekistan was established. Since 1995, foreign ministries of the two countries have been holding their political consultations. The last session of such consultations took place in Tashkent in May of 2011. These meetings provide the parties with an opportunity in a frank manner to discuss all aspects of bilateral relations, exchange of views on important international and regional issues that are of mutual interest. Since 2007 an Annual Forum “Republic of Korea – Central Asia” has been convened. Its primary purpose was to strengthen and expand cooperation in the area of economy, culture, education, tourism as well as to share with experience in the field of information-telecommunication technology, construction and transportation. The fifth session of the forum took place in Tashkent in November of 2011. The delegation of Uzbekistan actively participated in the sixth meeting of the forum that was held in Seoul last July on the level of foreign ministers. On the sideline of this event Financial and Investment Forums of Central Asian states and Korea were convened. Their main topics were to discuss ways of furthering financial and investment cooperation between the Central Asian region and Korea. I would like also to note with satisfaction a sustainable tendency of expanding trade-economic and investment cooperation as well as a constant increase of two-way commerce that in 2011 exceeded $1.6 billion. During the State visit of President Lee Myung-bak to Uzbekistan in last August, a number of important bilateral documents were signed, giving a great impetus to deepening cooperation in trade-economic, investment and energy sectors. One of them is a project of constructing on the basis of the Surgil gas deposit an Ustyurt Gas-Chemical Complex on manufacturing polyethylene and polypropylene that would facilitate to creation of a large number of cooperation plants. The estimated cost of this project is $2.6 billion with annual production over $1.6 billion. Today the parties have already started the construction stage. There are a myriad of opportunities for enhancing investment cooperation in mining, oil-gas, petrochemical, construction, automobile-manufacturing and textile industries as well as in agriculture sector and in the field of energy saving technologies. Today, more than 360 Uzbek enterprises have partnership with Korean companies, out of which 59 have 100 percent Korean capitals. They function in the area of trade, light, mining, chemical and food industries, as well as in the sector of machine-building, metal-working manufacturing, healthcare, tourism and services. Currently, 84 Korean companies are registered at the Ministry for Foreign Economic, Investment and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan. The aggregate volume of announced Korean investments into the economy of Uzbekistan today exceeded $5 billion, including $2 billion that have been already drawn. One of the promising areas of bilateral cooperation is the implementation of various projects in the Free Industrial-Economic Zone “Navoi” (FIEZ). Consolidation of opportunities that provide the FIEZ and International logistic center at the Airport of Navoi, which is currently managed by the leading world cargo carrier – Korean Air - creates exceptional conditions for developing highly remunerative production and swift delivery of manufactured products to world markets through an effective system of multimodal transportation by air, trucks and railroads. In 2011, more than 50,000 tons of cargo was shipped through Navoi Airport. The cargo terminal of this multimodal center has the capacity to process daily about 300 tons of cargo and 100,000 tons annually. Another important area for cooperation is the implementation of various projects pertaining to attracting to our country high innovative technologies aimed at creating new and upgrading current production lines. Within this cooperation Uzbekistan has started producing high valued products based on advanced science intensive technologies and become one of the world auto manufacturers. At the present time active bilateral cooperation is underway thanks to technical assistance of the Government of the Republic of Korea that is rendered through the Korean Agency for International Cooperation (KOICA). As of today more than 1250 representatives of different ministries and agencies of Uzbekistan have undergone trainings in South Korea through KOICA’s programs. Our countries also successfully cooperate in the cultural-humanitarian field. In order to strengthen mutual understanding between the people of the two countries, we have agreed in expanding humanitarian exchanges and interactions in the area of education, tourism and sport as well as on creating in Tashkent the Seoul Park. The Korean diaspora in Uzbekistan, the fourth largest one in the world after China, the United States and Japan, plays an important role in strengthening friendly relations between our two countries. Since 1999 the Society of Friendship “Uzbekistan- Korea” has been helping. In addition, a Korean Center of Education has been operating in Tashkent since 1992. It organizes on competitive basis language training and courses in Korea for Uzbekistan’s teachers and students to increase their proficiency level on the Korean language. Currently, Korean is taught in 13 Universities and 28 schools and lyceums of Uzbekistan. The implementation of a project on opening in Tashkent a center for professional training “Uzbekistan-Korea” has become another success story in the area of education. Annually more than 360 young people of Uzbekistan will study in Korea on computer assembling, graphic arts, electrical engineering, repairing of agricultural machinery and car maintenance. In general, since the establishment of diplomatic relations the Republic of Korea has been and remains for Uzbekistan a reliable, in all respect, strategic partner that renders coherent support in implementing in our country important national programs of drastic reforms and modernization of economy and social sphere. In this regard Uzbekistan strives for further developing and strengthening mutually beneficial relations with the Republic of Korea that serve the interest of the two countries and their peoples. In conclusion, taking this opportunity, I would like to wish to the esteemed readers of this reputed newspaper every success in all their endeavors, longevity and well-being.