[Full Text] Joint Statement of the Korea-Kazakhstan Summit Meeting

President Yoon Suk-yeol, on a state visit to Kazakhstan, held a joint press conference with Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, President of Kazakhstan, at the Presidential Palace in Astana on the 12th (local time).
[Photo by Yonhap News]

During his state visit to Kazakhstan, President Yoon held a summit meeting with President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev in the capital city of Astana on the 12th (local time) and stated, "We have agreed to further develop the strategic partnership into a more mutually beneficial and future-oriented partnership."

After the summit meeting with President Tokayev, President Yoon said in a joint press statement, "We share the view that cooperation between South Korea, aspiring to be a global pivotal country amid today's complex global crises and uncertainties, and Kazakhstan, pursuing the 'New Kazakhstan Construction,' is more important than ever."

The following is the full text of the joint statement.

President Yoon Suk-yeol of the Republic of Korea paid a state visit to Kazakhstan from June 11 to 13, 2024, at the invitation of President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

The two leaders (hereinafter referred to as the two sides) held a summit meeting in Astana on June 12, 2024. In a friendly atmosphere, the two sides highly appreciated the dynamic development of bilateral relations since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992. They exchanged views on ways to strengthen practical cooperation between the two countries and on regional and international issues of mutual interest.

Political Cooperation: Strengthening Dialogue

1. President Tokayev of the Republic of Kazakhstan expressed support for the "Korea-Central Asia K Silk Road Cooperation Initiative," South Korea's first Central Asia strategy announced in June 2024, and called for close cooperation between the two governments to implement the initiative.

2. The two sides evaluated the positive outcomes of cooperation conducted within the framework of the Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum. They agreed to continue constructive exchanges to promote bilateral and multilateral projects between South Korea and Central Asia. The two leaders agreed to work together to further develop the Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum. President Yoon proposed holding the Korea-Central Asia Summit in 2025, which President Tokayev welcomed.

3. The two sides noted their contributions to nuclear disarmament, non-proliferation, and the peaceful use of nuclear energy and agreed to further strengthen such cooperation. They agreed to jointly work toward the full restoration of sovereign equality within the IAEA. South Korea expressed support for Kazakhstan's membership in the IAEA Far East Group on the condition that South Korea's interests related to its status on the IAEA Board of Governors are not affected.

4. The two sides agreed to continue cooperation to strengthen the international non-proliferation regime, including the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT), the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC), and the Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC). In particular, South Korea appreciated Kazakhstan's various efforts to strengthen and institutionalize the Biological Weapons Convention (BWC).

5. The two sides agreed to continue joint efforts to promote confidence-building measures within the framework of the Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) to enhance peace, stability, and trust in the region. Kazakhstan expressed gratitude to South Korea for supporting Kazakhstan's chairmanship of CICA from 2022 to 2024.

6. The two sides shared the view that the complete denuclearization of North Korea would contribute to peace and stability not only on the Korean Peninsula but also globally. They urged North Korea to cease any acts threatening international peace and security and to comply with relevant UN Security Council resolutions. Kazakhstan expressed support for South Korea's "Bold Initiative for a Denuclearized, Peaceful, and Prosperous Korean Peninsula" and supported a free and peaceful reunification of the Korean Peninsula. South Korea highly appreciated Kazakhstan's activities to strengthen cooperation among all existing nuclear-weapon-free zones.

7. The two sides emphasized the importance of global dialogue on religion and culture, including the World Conference of Traditional Religions Leaders, a platform to promote mutual respect and religious tolerance.

8. Kazakhstan highly appreciated international organizations based in South Korea, such as the Global Green Growth Institute (GGGI), the Asian Forest Cooperation Organization (AFoCO), and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), for their contributions to the international community's climate response and green growth, including in Kazakhstan.

9. The two sides agreed to promote trilateral cooperation in Central Asia through cooperation between the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) and the Kazakhstan International Development Agency (KazAID) to foster economic and social development in the Central Asian region.

Economic Cooperation: Mutually Beneficial Projects

10. The two sides emphasized that the Joint Committee on Trade, Investment, and Science & Technology Cooperation (hereinafter the Joint Committee) and the Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) play important roles in promoting trade and investment between the two countries. They agreed to further strengthen trade, investment, and practical cooperation through the Joint Committee and TIPF.

11. The two sides noted the importance of regularly holding the Joint Committee to identify promising areas for trade and economic cooperation and to promote joint investment projects.

12. The two sides highly appreciated the business forum held in Astana on June 12, 2024, with participation from the business communities of both countries. They also hoped that the commercial documents signed during President Yoon's visit to Kazakhstan would positively contribute to expanding economic and trade cooperation and investment between the two countries.

13. The two sides agreed to continue the stable supply of Kazakhstan-produced uranium to South Korea and to review the possibility of increasing supply in the future. Kazakhstan's state nuclear company, KazAtomProm, plans to continuously monitor public tenders by South Korea's authorized energy agencies and participate when tenders are announced for natural uranium supply. KazAtomProm also plans to hold regular consultations with South Korea's authorized energy agencies to discuss bilateral cooperation measures. The two sides agreed that South Korean companies would investigate the current status of energy infrastructure in modernizing Kazakhstan's thermal power plants and apply South Korea's coal environmental facility improvement technologies. They emphasized the importance of South Korean companies continuing to purchase Kazakhstan crude oil through alternative trade routes. The two sides welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on comprehensive cooperation in the power sector between Kazakhstan's Ministry of Energy and South Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy. They recognized the need for comprehensive cooperation and supply chain establishment in the critical minerals sector.

14. The two sides agreed to jointly work on implementing environmental protection and climate change response projects. They agreed to explore the possibility of projects through the International Fund for Saving the Aral Sea (IFAS), chaired by Kazakhstan from 2024 to 2026. They welcomed efforts to strengthen cooperation related to wildfire suppression using advanced technologies and the advancement of Kazakhstan's firefighting system.

15. The two sides agreed to promote South Korea's technologies and companies' participation in water resource sectors, including improving Kazakhstan's water supply and sewerage networks, introducing water-saving technologies, constructing flood prevention infrastructure, and enhancing flood response capabilities using AI and ICT technologies.

16. The two sides agreed to strengthen cooperation on projects in the green energy sector, including green hydrogen production. They welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding on comprehensive cooperation for greenhouse gas reduction based on Article 6 of the Paris Agreement between Kazakhstan's Ministry of Ecology and Natural Resources and South Korea's Ministry of Environment and emphasized South Korean companies' interest in participating in greenhouse gas reduction projects in Kazakhstan.

17. The two sides welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on knowledge sharing and development cooperation between South Korea's Ministry of Economy and Finance and Kazakhstan's Ministry of National Economy. They agreed that the MOU would contribute to building a cooperative relationship for sustainable economic development between the two countries. They welcomed the strengthening of economic cooperation based on the MOU and plan to carry out cooperative activities such as joint research and feasibility study support according to Kazakhstan's needs in the future.

18. The two sides emphasized the importance of the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) on cooperation in banking supervision between South Korea's Financial Services Commission and Financial Supervisory Service and Kazakhstan's Agency for Regulation and Development of the Financial Market. The MOU is expected to strengthen cooperation between the two countries and contribute to expanding South Korean financial institutions' entry into Kazakhstan.

19. The two sides emphasized the role of the Astana International Financial Centre (AIFC) in attracting South Korean investment to Kazakhstan.

20. The two sides focused on smart farm technology as a solution to overcome climate change and strengthen food security and agreed to cooperate to expand the entry of South Korean smart farm companies into Kazakhstan and develop smart agriculture in both countries.

People-to-People Exchanges: Foundation for Strengthening Friendship

21. The two sides evaluated that the resumption of direct flights between the capitals (Astana-Seoul) and the increase of flights on the Almaty-Seoul route contribute to activating people-to-people exchanges.

22. The two sides highly appreciated the activation of cooperation in higher education. They agreed to expand comprehensive and continuous exchanges and cooperation in academics, students, and faculty and staff and to encourage cooperation to nurture highly qualified experts in technology fields in Kazakhstan and South Korea. They agreed to support Kazakh language education in South Korea and Korean language education in Kazakhstan.

23. The two sides agreed to promote cooperation through exchanges of excellent research personnel between higher education and research institutions in the science and technology field. They welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between South Korea's Ministry of Science and ICT and Kazakhstan's Ministry of Science and Higher Education in the field of science and technology.

24. The two sides expressed satisfaction with the increasing trend of mutual visits by tourists from both countries and the high potential for tourism cooperation development. They agreed to continue strengthening tourism cooperation by participating in international tourism exchange events held in both countries.

25. The two sides agreed to actively work to build cooperation between sports federations of the two countries while continuously participating in sports exchange events held in both countries.

26. South Korea expressed gratitude to the people of Kazakhstan for warmly welcoming Korean immigrants in the 1930s. The two sides highly appreciated the role of Kazakhstani Koreans in contributing to the development of economic and cultural exchanges between the two countries.

27. The two sides agreed to work to strengthen joint cooperation in the field of employment and labor. They welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between South Korea's Ministry of Employment and Labor and Kazakhstan's Ministry of Labor and Social Protection on cooperation in employment and labor.

28. The two sides agreed to cooperate in public administration development to strengthen government capacities and share experiences and knowledge in human resource management for public officials. They welcomed the signing of a memorandum of understanding between South Korea's Ministry of Personnel Management and Kazakhstan's Agency for Public Service and Anti-Corruption on cooperation in personnel administration.

The Future of the Two Countries

29. The two sides expressed satisfaction with the results of President Yoon Suk-yeol's state visit and highly appreciated that the visit positively contributed to strengthening friendly cooperation between the two countries. President Yoon expressed gratitude for the warm hospitality of the Kazakhstan government and people. The two leaders confirmed their firm commitment to continue high-level exchanges between the Republic of Korea and the Republic of Kazakhstan.

30. President Yoon invited President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev of Kazakhstan to visit South Korea at a convenient time, and President Tokayev expressed gratitude and accepted the invitation.

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