Uploaded September 2026 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago

---

Strategic importance of Korea-Central Asia ties grows ahead of first summit: Eurasia diplomacy expert

한국, 9월 중앙아시아 5개국과 첫 정상회의… 의미와 과제는

Leaders from five Central Asian countries are scheduled to sit down in Seoul for a landmark summit this month as South Korea seeks to transform growing economic ties into a broader strategic partnership.
Now ahead of that gathering our senior correspondent Oh Soo-young reached out to a veteran diplomat here for his thoughts on this initiative.

Seoul’s relationship with Central Asia is gaining strategic importance, amid war-driven supply-chain disruptions and intensifying competition over energy and critical minerals.
That’s according to former Korean Ambassador to Kazakhstan Baik Joo-hyeon,
as Korea prepares for its summit with Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.
Set for September 16th in Seoul, it will be the first-ever leaders’ meeting in the C5-plus-Korea format.
Baek says its timing is particularly significant, as the region reshapes its external partnerships.

“Central Asian countries have also been diversifying their external cooperation by regularizing regional summits since 2018 and expanding summit diplomacy with the major nations such as the United States, China, Japan, Russia, and the European Union.”

This offers Seoul an opening to deepen ties with a region rich in energy and critical minerals, and positioned along routes connecting Asia and Europe.
Central Asian countries, meanwhile, are seeking technology and expertise to diversify their industries.
Baek points to Kazakhstan as an example of how that partnership is already taking shape.

“An AI department established by a Korean professor at Nazarbayev University in Kazakhstan admits approximately 300 students annually after fierce competition. This demonstrates a strong desire for cutting-edge industries among Kazakh people. The fintech system developed by ethnic Koreans has already become a core part of daily life in Kazakhstan.”

Building on bilateral projects like these, Baik says the agenda would likely span an array of common interests, with the goal of institutionalizing cooperation between the six nations.

“It also seeks to expand trade investment by strengthening cooperation in supply chains, customs and regulations and to promote mutually beneficial practical cooperation in the fields of energy, critical minerals and infrastructure. Korea also aims to discuss, expand the future-oriented areas of competition such as artificial intelligence, digital technology, intellectual property rights and climate change response.”
The summit was first proposed under Seoul’s K-Silk Road Cooperation Initiative in 2024, Korea’s first comprehensive diplomatic strategy tailored to Central Asia.
With the final and most recent round of senior-level meetings in July,

the six sides have been working towards a draft joint statement, provisionally called the Seoul Declaration.

Oh Soo-young, Arirang News.

#SouthKorea #Central_Asia #Summit #Diplomacy #대한민국 #중앙아시아 #정상회의 #Arirang_News #아리랑뉴스

📣 Facebook : facebook.com/arirangtvnews
📣 Youtube : youtube.com/@ArirangCoKrArirangNEWS
📣 Homepage : v2.arirang.com

2026-09-01, 17:00 (KST)