Central Asian Countries and Korea Enter Final Preparations for Their First Summit
The third meeting of senior officials in preparation for the first Central Asia-Republic of Korea Cooperation Summit was held in Astana. The meeting, which was attended by a delegation from Turkmenistan, led by Deputy Foreign Minister Akhmet Gurbanov, marked a key milestone before the historic meeting of the leaders of the six countries in September.
The meeting was chaired by Deputy Foreign Minister Chung Eui-hye of the Republic of Korea and attended by diplomats from all five countries in the region. As noted in official reports from the Korean Foreign Ministry, Central Asia is a strategic Eurasian hub with enormous potential for energy and mineral resources, and the September summit will mark a new turning point in regional diplomacy.
During the talks, the parties conducted a detailed review of preparations for the summit and the parallel business forum, finalizing their positions on key points of the final document—the Joint Declaration, tentatively known as the "Seoul Declaration." Participants also held in-depth consultations on the implementation of specific project initiatives in industry, energy, transport and logistics, digital technologies, and agriculture.
Speaking at the meeting, Deputy Foreign Minister of Turkmenistan Akhmet Gurbanov reaffirmed Ashgabat's commitment to further strengthening multilateral dialogue. It was emphasized that the upcoming summits will open up new opportunities for direct contacts between business circles and the launch of mutually beneficial projects.
On the sidelines of the interregional forum, Akhmet Gurbanov held a separate bilateral meeting with Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea Chung Eui-hye. The diplomats noted that the Turkmen-Korean partnership is based on long-standing traditions of friendship and trust, and that the parties will make every effort to achieve tangible practical results following the upcoming summit.
