Korea-Uzbekistan Summit Expands Rare Metal Supply Chain

President Moon Holds Fourth Summit with Uzbekistan President... Discusses Trade Agreement and Health-Medical Cooperation

[Asia Economy Reporter Ryu Jeong-min] On the morning of the 17th, President Moon Jae-in held a summit meeting with Shavkat Mirziyoyev, President of Uzbekistan, at the Blue House and discussed ways to expand the supply chain of rare metals.

The two leaders continued with an official welcoming ceremony, signing the guestbook, and the summit meeting that morning. In the afternoon, they will hold a signing ceremony for agreements and memorandums of understanding, a friendly luncheon, and a state banquet.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

The focus of the summit was cooperation on mineral supply chains. Uzbekistan, the most populous country in Central Asia, is rich in natural minerals such as copper, tungsten, and molybdenum. The two leaders deepened their understanding regarding the expansion of high-quality rare metal supply chains used in advanced industries.

The Blue House expected that this rare metal cooperation model would help promote cooperation with other New Northern Policy partners such as Kazakhstan and Mongolia.

Additionally, they reaffirmed their strong commitment to actively pursue the Free Trade Agreement negotiations, which began through a virtual summit in January. This negotiation is the first Free Trade Agreement discussion pursued with a New Northern Policy cooperation country. The two leaders also discussed ways to expand comprehensive cooperation in health and medical fields, including COVID-19.

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