[Unofficial Translation] 

President Mirziyoyev, people of the Republic of Uzbekistan,

I extend my gratitude for the warm hospitality provided to my delegation.

It is meaningful to pay a state visit to Uzbekistan, one of Korea’s few Special Strategic Partners.

Under President Mirziyoyev’s exceptional leadership, Uzbekistan has been achieving rapid development, and I am privileged to be here and see this with my own eyes.

Today, President Mirziyoyev and I held our second summit, following our meeting in New York last September on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.

We reflected on the past 32 years of bilateral relations, and agreed to develop our Special Strategic Partnership in a future-oriented manner.

First, President Mirziyoyev and I agreed to further expand our collaboration in infrastructure, which has long been a key sector of cooperation between our two countries.

Today, a contract to export Korean-made high-speed train cars to Uzbekistan was concluded.

This marks the first export of such cars developed with Korea’s own technology. It will lead to broader bilateral cooperation in the railway sector, including high-speed rail operations, while also helping to enhance Uzbekistan’s railroad infrastructure.

Moreover, the “Arrangement of Cooperation in District Heating Modernization in Uzbekistan” was concluded, further strengthening the foundation for bilateral collaboration in this field.

I asked President Mirziyoyev for his continued consideration towards Korean businesses, so that they can participate in Uzbekistan’s construction of expressways, water supply facilities and other national projects, thereby generating many cases of exemplary bilateral cooperation in infrastructure following the Gas Chemical Complex Project in Surgil. We also agreed to continue close consultations in this regard.

Second, we agreed to maximize the synergy created through supply chain cooperation by combining Uzbekistan’s abundant mineral resources with Korea’s technological expertise.

The “Arrangement of Cooperation on Critical Mineral Partnership” concerning minerals such as tungsten and molybdenum was signed, and we agreed to actively work together to ensure that Korean companies are given priority to participate in projects that have been identified as economically feasible.

Moreover, we agreed to work together to ensure that the Rare Metals Center Project, through which our two countries are jointly developing refining technologies essential for high-purity rare metal products, yields mutually beneficial results.

Third, we agreed to expand cooperation in defense and the defense industry.

To this end, we will expand our bilateral cooperation, which has been focused on joint exercises, military medical technology and military training, to include information and communications, cyberspace and border surveillance systems as well as aircraft and other defense equipment.

Fourth, we lauded the National Children’s Medical Center of Uzbekistan, which is an exemplary case of bilateral healthcare cooperation, on obtaining international accreditation. We also welcomed the conclusion of Korean-Uzbek negotiations on Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO, and the signing of the Protocol of Bilateral Negotiations during this visit.

As the Chair of the Working Party for Uzbekistan’s accession to the WTO, the Republic of Korea will actively support Uzbekistan efforts to join the WTO.

Fifth, President Mirziyoyev and I concurred that in the pursuit of national development, it is vital to improve public administration services and enhance the capabilities of civil servants.

The Uzbek government has shown great interest in how the Korean government trains civil servants and also in cooperating with Korea on public personnel administration.

Building upon this, we adopted the “Agreement on a Cooperation Plan for strengthening the Government Capacity of Uzbekistan” and agreed to closely cooperate in this field.

Sixth, we discussed the latest developments on the Korean Peninsula and agreed to continue to play a part in the international efforts to denuclearize North Korea. I expressed my gratitude to Uzbekistan — a country at the forefront of the non-proliferation movement — for consistently supporting our policy on North Korea.

Finally, I briefed President Mirziyoyev in detail on the “K-Silk Road Initiative on Cooperation between Korea and Central Asia” – our first diplomatic strategy focusing exclusively on Central Asia. I also explained my government’s expectation and aspiration to expand our partnership with Central Asia.

I would like to take this opportunity to express my gratitude to President Mirziyoyev once more for fully supporting this initiative and our plan to hold a Korea-Central Asia Summit next year.

Building upon this initiative, Korea will take a leap towards the future alongside Uzbekistan, a brother country that warmly embraced ethnic Koreans 87 years ago.

My government will faithfully implement measures for cooperation agreed upon today with President Mirziyoyev, and further advance our Special Strategic Partnership.

I would like to sincerely thank President Mirziyoyev once again for his kind invitation and warm hospitality.