President Lee Holds Summit with Uzbekistan... High-speed Rail, Defense Sales, and Cooperation on Key Minerals

[Financial News] On the 14th, President Lee Jae Myung held a summit with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, who was on a state visit to Korea, and set out to expand cooperation in strategic industries, including high-speed rail, defense, critical minerals, and artificial intelligence (AI). In the first leg of a series of summit diplomacy ahead of the 1st Korea-Central Asia Summit on the 16th, he kicked off "sales diplomacy" aimed at expanding opportunities for Korean companies to enter the local market and secure orders.
On this day, President Lee Jae Myung held a summit with President Mirziyoyev at Cheong Wa Dae and discussed ways to expand economic and industrial cooperation. Taking advantage of the summit, the two countries signed a total of 13 agreements, memoranda of understanding (MOUs), and contracts in fields including high-speed rail, defense, manufacturing AI, key minerals, and intellectual property.
First, the two countries agreed to launch an Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) feasibility study for the introduction of eight high-speed train sets in Uzbekistan and the establishment of a national genome and biobank called the 'Biome Center.' As domestically produced high-speed trains manufactured by Hyundai Rotem Company were previously exported to Uzbekistan and began their first commercial operations, attention is focused on whether this cooperation will lead to additional orders.
In the defense sector, Korea Aerospace Industries (KAI) and Uztec Trade signed an agreement to strengthen defense cooperation. The two countries also agreed to expand cooperation in areas including AI transformation in manufacturing (AX), education and tourism, agriculture, intellectual property protection, digital forest restoration, and medical product regulation.
In strategic industrial sectors such as critical minerals and AI, The Export-Import Bank of Korea (KEXIM) and the Ministry of Investment, Industry and Trade of the Republic of Uzbekistan have agreed to identify promising projects and explore financial support measures, focusing on industries such as critical minerals, AI and data centers, smart cities, industrial complexes exclusively for Korean companies, and pharmaceuticals and biotechnology.
The government plans to use this Korea-Central Asia Summit to diversify supply chains and expand opportunities for Korean companies to enter the local market and secure orders by linking Central Asia's abundant mineral and energy resources with Korea's exploration and processing technologies.
The two countries formed a consensus not only on economic cooperation but also on issues of peace and security on the Korean Peninsula. At the summit, President Lee Jae Myung emphasized, "I believe that cooperation between the two countries will be a great force for peace and stability in Eurasia and on the Korean Peninsula." In response, President Mirziyoyev replied, "I will continue to support the Korean government's efforts to solidify peace and security on the Korean Peninsula without change."
Prior to the summit on this day, President Lee Jae Myung met with Asian Development Bank (ADB) President Masato Kanda at the Cheong Wa Dae office and agreed to expand cooperation in the supply chains for critical minerals in Central Asia, as well as in the fields of AI and energy infrastructure, including nuclear power. President Lee Jae Myung proposed strengthening cooperation on the supply chains by combining Korea's technological capabilities with the ADB's business experience and financial instruments, and President Kanda expressed his willingness to cooperate actively.[email protected] Choi Jong-geun, Seong Seok-woo Reporter