Korean Companies Reveal Kazakhstan Cooperation Plans... Moon Pledges "Full Support for Bilateral Relations Development"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Lee Ji-eun] At the Korea-Kazakhstan Major Business Leaders Meeting held at the Blue House on the 17th, Korean companies expressed their plans for cooperation with Kazakhstan in various sectors such as infrastructure and energy, stating their commitment to improving bilateral relations. President Moon Jae-in also stated, "The government will provide all possible support for the development of bilateral relations."

According to the Blue House, President Moon presided over the Korea-Kazakhstan Major Business Leaders Meeting at the Blue House that evening.

The meeting was attended by President Moon, Minister Moon Seung-wook of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, Lee Ho-seung, Chief of the Blue House Policy Office, and 13 people including 10 Korean business leaders requested by Kazakhstan. From Kazakhstan, 11 people attended including President Tokayev, government officials, Bakht Dusenbayev, Ambassador of Kazakhstan to Korea, and business leaders.

At the meeting, Koo Ja-yeol, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association, announced that a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on business cooperation was signed with the Kazakhstan side during this state visit, and stated that this would serve as an opportunity to expand the private economic cooperation network between the two countries and fully perform the role of the lead agency of the Economic Cooperation Committee.

Gong Young-woon, President of Hyundai Motor Company, introduced that "Kazakhstan is a key production base for expanding automobile exports to Central Asia," and plans to expand exports to neighboring countries based on the semi-knocked down (CKD) plant in Almaty, Kazakhstan.

Lee In-yong, President of Samsung Electronics, said that Samsung Electronics first entered Kazakhstan in 1994 and established a local sales corporation in 2008, and that they will continue to expand various activities including social contribution projects.

Jung Yeon-in, President of Doosan Heavy Industries & Construction, expressed hope to participate in the modernization project of the Almaty power plant and to become a good partner with Kazakhstan in the renewable energy sector.

Min Myung-gi, CEO of Lotte Confectionery, said, "We are operating a factory in downtown Almaty and are reviewing additional site acquisition for business expansion," and requested cooperation from the Kazakhstan government, stating, "We are experiencing difficulties securing industrial complexes with infrastructure due to relocation to the outskirts of the city."

Ju Si-bo, President of POSCO International, said that Kazakhstan is a country with great development potential and expressed hope to grow together with POSCO in the fields of energy, logistics, and transportation infrastructure.

Seo Jung-jin, Honorary Chairman of Celltrion, said, "The bio-industry is essential as a major cooperation field between the two countries," and expected that this would contribute to overcoming Kazakhstan's COVID-19 crisis and improving the medical environment.

Kim Kyu-young, CEO of Hyosung, expressed hope to discover business opportunities where Kazakhstan's abundant resources and Hyosung Group's manufacturing know-how accumulated over the past 50 years can create synergy, and showed expectations for cooperation in the transformer sector.

Ko Dong-hyun, CEO of Dongil Construction, said that since entering Kazakhstan in 2004, they have achieved sales of 1.4 billion dollars mainly in the construction sector, and received an honorary consul position from the Kazakhstan government last July, pledging to continue efforts to promote friendship between the two countries.

Yoo Jung-yeol, President of KOTRA, stated that they will support the activation of exchanges between companies of the two countries in areas where mutually beneficial cooperation is expected.

From the Kazakhstan side, Deputy Prime Minister Roman Sklyar, Almasadam Satkaliev, Chairman of Samruk-Kazyna, Patyeslav Kim, Chairman of Caspi Group, and Sergey Khan, CEO of Mineral Products, introduced their companies' main business areas and expressed hope to expand cooperation with Korea.

President Tokayev, in his closing remarks, said, "Today's business leaders meeting was very satisfactory," and "We will cooperate to the fullest extent to ensure smooth implementation of various projects related to Korea."

President Moon said, "There is a Kazakh proverb that says, 'The strength of a bird lies in its wings, and the strength of a person lies in friendship.' I hope that the friendship between the two countries will be further strengthened through this state visit to Korea," and added, "The government will provide all possible support for the development of bilateral relations."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.