Korea will help pull the industrial locomotive of Central Asia

Korea to Help Elevate Central Asia's Industrial Locomotive to a New Level

The Republic of Korea and the states of Central Asia intend to shift industrial cooperation into a more applied dimension — from trade and investment to joint production, technology localization, and the formation of regional value chains.

The first meeting of the Ministers of Industry of the Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea is intended to complement the political dialogue with a concrete agenda in the fields of industry, trade, and technology, as well as to strengthen ties between the region's enterprises and Korean businesses, reports the information service of the Ministry of Investment, Industry, and Trade of Uzbekistan.

There is already a solid economic foundation for this. By the end of 2025, Uzbekistan's trade turnover with the countries of Central Asia and the Republic of Korea exceeded $10 billion, increasing by almost 10%. For January-July 2026, this figure reached $6.5 billion, gaining 25%.

Today, more than 3,000 enterprises with the participation of capital from Korea and Central Asian countries operate in Uzbekistan. Against this backdrop, the parties want to shift the focus from mutual supplies to launching new production facilities, localization, and creating regional value chains.

One of the main areas of cooperation is to be the removal of technical barriers. The Uzbek side proposed the mutual recognition of certificates and test results, which should facilitate the entry of products from the region's enterprises into the markets of partners.

In addition, it was proposed to prepare an Industrial Cooperation Program with specific high-tech projects, launch a unified digital platform for industrial initiatives, and form a permanent expert group at the level of deputy ministers.

A separate block of negotiations was dedicated to industrial technologies, investments, infrastructure, and critical minerals. Promising areas mentioned include the introduction of artificial intelligence in manufacturing, automated quality control, predictive equipment maintenance, energy efficiency improvement, and production data analysis.

It is also planned to align the technological needs of Central Asian enterprises with the competencies of Korean companies. Another area will be the expansion of professional internships for engineers and technologists.

Following the meeting, the parties signed a joint memorandum of cooperation in the field of industry and supply chains.