Korea – Asia: Opportunities for Development

First of all, I would like to emphasize in particular that one of the main results of the New Northern Policy of President Moon Jae In is undoubtedly the inter-Korean summit held in April earlier this year, and the Panmunjom Declaration adopted at its end.

That became an important historic event of the 21st century and has already been recognized as epochal. The declaration, which consolidated the most important agreements on the parties’ intention to sign a peace treaty and implement the denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula, inspires hope and confidence in the arrival of a new “era of peace and prosperity” in the region.

As the initiator of the creation of a nuclear-weapon-free zone in Central Asia, Uzbekistan fully supports the process of denuclearization on the Korean Peninsula, which will undoubtedly strengthen peace, further develop comprehensive inter-Korean relations and promote integration in the region.

At the same time, our country supports Seoul’s and the entire world community’s efforts aimed at resolving the situation on the Peninsula exclusively through political and diplomatic means.

I would also like to point out that, all the obstacles notwithstanding, the fruitful outcomes of the historic meeting of Korean leaders became possible thanks to the resolute stance and firm political will of President Moon Jae In on the implementation of the New Northern Policy strategic course designed to improve relations with the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea, ensure security and stability, and consolidate confidence building in the region.

Another key point is that the new vision of the South Korean leadership includes the creation of a huge economic territory that will expand from the Korean Peninsula and the Russian Far East to the whole of vast Eurasia.

This initiative not only opens up additional opportunities for economic growth in Eurasia, but also delivers favorable conditions for a peaceful life and economic prosperity for the North Korean people, which will undoubtedly become a solid basis for further peaceful unification of Korea.

I think President Jae In’s determination and confidence in achieving this cherished goal is expressed in his words conveyed last September in an interview: “We are one people who have lived together for five thousand years of history. Therefore, no matter how difficult and thorny the path may be, unification is equivalent to the fate that our people must follow. And we must protect this fate.”

This visionary policy of Seoul is supported by the majority of representatives of the South Korean expert community.

According to Statista Global Consumer Survey data, about 65% of experts and scholars in South Korea noted that the New Northern Policy would improve relations between the two Koreas.

We consider the New Northern Policy put forward by the Republic of Korea to be very relevant and we regard it as an important contribution to the revival of the Great Silk Road in the new modern realities.

The restoration of the railway and automobile communication envisaged in the framework of the New Northern Policy will undoubtedly open up new prospects for expanding the cooperation of the Korean Peninsula with the countries of the vast region of Eurasia, including Central Asia, and turning it into a continent with a common transport and logistics system and intensive trade and logistics.

However, according to experts, the current relations of Seoul with the countries of Eurasia do not correspond to their capacities.

In this regard, in order for the “New Northern Policy” to reverse this situation, it is necessary to create a single economic space and implement popular joint investment projects using modern Korean technologies and financial capabilities, as well as huge energy, mineral and highly educated human resources, including those of Eurasian and Central Asian countries.

I am convinced that the new strategy will be able to provide additional opportunities for the countries of Central Asia in developing bilateral and multilateral cooperation with both the Republic of Korea and other project participants. I believe that the New Northern Policy should become an important practical component of the Central Asia – Republic of Korea forum, the eleventh meeting of which is taking place these days in Seoul at the level of deputy foreign ministers.

For more than 10 years now, we have seen how the forum has evolved and got stronger, and how the number of mutually beneficial cooperation projects has been growing. Since 2017, the secretariat of the forum in Seoul began to function, which marked the dawn of a qualitatively new stage of interaction within this format.

And now we can feel its active work in promoting new initiatives and ideas to enhance  interaction in the areas of investment, innovation, transport, healthcare, education and culture. I want to emphasize that Uzbekistan highly appreciates the efforts of the Government of the Republic of Korea as the main instigator and coordinator of the forum.

At the same time, additional efforts are needed by all parties to turn it into an important platform to build up multi-dimensional cooperation and an effective mechanism for the practical implementation of priority projects that meet the interests of all participants.

In the context of the development of regional cooperation in Central Asia, the past two years have truly become historic and breakthrough ones thanks to the new regional policy of the President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

The Central Asian countries demonstrate a firm commitment and enormous potential in developing constructive cooperation in all areas based on the principles of good neighborliness, mutual benefit and respect, as well as consideration for one another’s interests.

Within a relatively short period of time, a high level of political trust has been achieved among the countries of Central Asia.

Relations between our countries have reached the level of an in-depth strategic partnership; a new political atmosphere has been created in the region.

In less than two years, mutually advantageous solutions have been reached on the basis of reasonable compromises on a number of critical problems relating to water use, demarcation and delimitation of borders, the resumption and expansion of transport communications and mutual electricity supply.

The leaders of the countries of the region showed an unprecedented readiness to eliminate all the conditions and prerequisites that fueled the conflict potential in Central Asia.

As a result of the intensification of regional cooperation, the trade turnover of Uzbekistan with the countries of the region increased by an average of 38% from January to August of this year, and by 52% with individual countries (total $ 2.57 billion, for the same period of 2017 it was $ 1.77 billion).

The improvement of trade and economic relations between the countries of Central Asia contributed to increasing the investment attractiveness of Uzbekistan and the region as a whole. In particular, from the beginning of 2017 to the present, over 400 contracts have been signed between Uzbekistan and foreign countries, as well as deals and agreements worth about $ 100 billion.

In March last year, the start of the implementation of an important section of the Uzbekistan-Turkmenistan-Iran-Oman transport corridor was launched – the Turkmenabad-Farab railway and road bridges across the Amudarya River were opened. Thanks to their launch, the volume of freight has already grown 2.5 times.

An opportunity opens up for access to European markets via the Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railway. In addition, after 20 years of negotiations, significant progress has been made in the construction of a railway connecting China and Central Asia through Kyrgyzstan.

On September 21 this year, an international high-level conference was held in Tashkent on the theme “Central Asia in the system of international transport corridors: strategic perspectives and unrealized opportunities”. The participants emphasized that the Central Asian countries need to find a joint solution to such pressing issues as the lack of necessary logistics centers and the corresponding infrastructure along all the highways involved in transit traffic.

The importance of introducing ICT, marketing and digital transport services in the road sector, automotive, air and railway industries of the countries of the region was also emphasized.

In our opinion, attracting modern Korean technologies and investments in the development of the transport and logistics infrastructure of the region can contribute to the practical solution of the above urgent problems in the field of transport.

In addition, in the framework of the New Northern Policy, Korea could significantly contribute to ensuring the dynamic and advanced development of the economies of the region by stepping up industrial cooperation, creating joint economic zones, enhancing investment cooperation, developing the digital economy, promoting the rational use of water and energy resources and taking preventive measures in the field of food security.

At the same time, Korean companies can play an important role in the integration of Central Asian countries into global trading chains.

I would also like to draw your attention to the fact that an active regional policy conducted by President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev creates the necessary favorable conditions for expanding the presence of South Korea throughout Central Asia, and this, taking into account all countries of the region and Afghanistan, constitutes a market with a population of about 90 million people.

Uzbekistan, advantageously located geographically, is ready and interested in becoming a “center of gravity” for South Korean business in entering Afghanistan and other markets of the former Soviet Union, the Middle East, South and Central Asia.

Thus, on October 10, 2018, for the first time, a trilateral business forum of the business circles of Tajikistan, Uzbekistan and Korea took place in Dushanbe. The event was attended by over 200 representatives of companies and enterprises from these countries.

In addition, the current liberalization policy in the financial, monetary, trade, economic, investment spheres and the development of an innovative approach in all sectors of the economy significantly increases the strategic attractiveness of the Uzbek market for South Korean companies and vice versa.

Uzbekistan and South Korea have already successfully completed and are implementing a whole series of joint strategically important large projects in various sectors of the economy. These are automotive, transport infrastructure, the oil and gas sector, information and communication technologies, mining, and others.

In particular, a project to create the International Intermodal Logistics Center was implemented with the leading airline company Korean Air. A cargo terminal with a capacity of transshipment and handling of 100 thousand tons per year was commissioned at Navoi airport. At present, through the logistics center, cargo is transported to 15 destinations in Europe and Asia.

South Korea is one of the leading trade, economic and investment partners of Uzbekistan. The annual mutual trade turnover exceeds $ 1 billion, and the volume of attracted investments is $ 7 billion.

Uzbekistan’s share in South Korea’s trade with all countries of Central Asia is almost 50%.

Since the start of this year, Uzbekistan has introduced a visa-free regime for citizens of South Korea with the aim of enhancing tourist exchange between the two states.

In turn, a high level of political trust and mutual understanding between Tashkent and Seoul creates the most favorable conditions for further strengthening and expanding economic cooperation between our countries.

According to international observers, the state visit of Shavkat Mirziyoyev to the Republic of Korea in November last year was a “breakthrough” considering the adoption of the Joint Statement on the comprehensive deepening of the strategic partnership and signed agreements in the economic and investment fields worth over $ 10 billion.

In this regard, in our country the necessary efforts are being made to organize the upcoming return visit of the President of the Republic of Korea to Uzbekistan next year at the highest level. In order to prepare for this visit in Tashkent, on November 29-30, an Uzbek-Korean seminar will be organized jointly with the Committee for Northern Economic Policy and the University of Hanyang on the topic “Uzbekistan-Korea: A Vision for the Future”.

During the event, it is planned to discuss the development of bilateral cooperation in the fields of industrial and agricultural production, energy cooperation, the development of logistics and infrastructure, interaction in the field of environment and technology, and strengthening inter-ethnic contacts.

At the same time, we propose a discussion of the conjugation of the South Korean strategy New Northern Policy, the initiative of China’s One Belt One Road project and the new EU strategy to improve the interconnectedness of Europe and Asia.

In our opinion, the pairing of the above initiatives will help create transport and logistics routes connecting Central Asia through Russia, China and Korea with the markets of Europe, Northeast, Southeast and South Asia, as well as access to the seaports of the region.

For Uzbekistan and other Central Asian countries, access to international seaports is extremely important. Due to the geographic isolation of the region, according to the estimates of the Boston consulting group, Uzbekistan loses up to 20% of GDP, as transport and transit costs reach 70-80% of the value of exported products. Moreover, carriers lose up to 40% of the time for transporting goods due to imperfect customs procedures.

Following the conference, a joint research report will be prepared on the development of bilateral relations between Uzbekistan and South Korea, as well as concrete proposals for the upcoming visit of President Moon Jae In to Uzbekistan.

(Source: «Uzbekistan Today» newspaper)