President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and President of the Republic of Korea Yoon Suk-Yeol held talks in an expanded format with the participation of delegations of the two countries,El.kz reports with reference to Akorda.
During the meeting, Tokayev called Yoon Suk-Yeol's first state visit to Kazakhstan a historic event, stressing that these talks will expand the scope of Kazakh-Korean integration and raise bilateral ties to a new level.
Tokayev noted that South Korea has become an important economic and technological leader on the global stage, and well-known Korean corporations contribute to the country's promotion as a "key global state."
South Korea ranks 4th in Kazakhstan's foreign trade turnover and is one of the ten largest foreign investors. Over the past 25 years, the countries have reached a high level of political dialogue, established fruitful economic cooperation and strong humanitarian ties. Kazakhstan and Korea cooperate in various fields, including inter-parliamentary, intergovernmental and interdepartmental cooperation.
Regular contacts between entrepreneurs of the two countries play an important role in building close ties. Tokayev noted with satisfaction that more than 700 companies with South Korean capital are successfully operating in Kazakhstan.
Particular attention is paid to cultural and humanitarian ties. Tokayev stressed the importance of the contribution of ethnic Koreans in Kazakhstan to strengthening relations between the countries.
More than 120,000 ethnic Koreans in Kazakhstan and more than 1,000 Kazakh students studying in Korea create a "golden bridge of friendship" between our countries.
Yoon Suk-Yeol expressed satisfaction with the visit and stressed the importance of expanding cooperation in promising areas, such as the extraction of critical raw materials, nuclear energy and renewable energy sources.
He also spoke about the new initiative of cooperation between Korea and the countries of Central Asia, K-Silk Road, aimed at strengthening ties and cooperation in the region.
President Yoon Suk-Yeol expressed gratitude to the Head of our state for the warm welcome on Kazakh soil and noted that this year the Republic of Korea and Kazakhstan celebrate the 15th anniversary of the establishment of strategic partnership
"The Republic of Korea intends to move together, hand in hand, towards a brighter and more prosperous future with Kazakhstan, our key strategic partner," the Korean leader said.
During the talks, the prospects for bilateral cooperation in such areas as energy, infrastructure and industry, engineering, trade, transport and logistics, digitalization and aerospace industry, financial sector, education, healthcare and pharmaceuticals, tourism and culture, ecology and others were discussed.
At the end of the meeting, President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev expressed gratitude to the Korean side for meaningful and constructive negotiations.