President Lee: "The Silk Road spirit is urgently needed... Korea and Central Asia must prepare for a new 30 years"

[Financial News] President Lee Jae Myung said on the 16th, "The world today is entering an era of truly sweeping transformation, in which the economy and security are closely interconnected, from supply chains and energy to markets and technology." He added, "The 'Silk Road spirit' of Central Asia, which connected the people, technologies and cultures of East and West, is more urgently needed than ever."
President Lee made the remarks in his opening speech at the first Korea–Central Asia Summit, held in Seoul under the theme "Partnership for Korea–Central Asia Cooperation and Strengthening Innovation, Prosperity and Connectivity."
This is the first time that the Republic of Korea and the Central Asian countries have held a multilateral summit. The meeting was attended by President Lee and the leaders of the five Central Asian countries: Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, Tajik President Emomali Rahmon, and Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov.
President Lee said, "More than 90 years ago, our Koryo-saram compatriots put down roots in Central Asia and began serving as a strong bridge connecting Korea and Central Asia. Building on our longstanding historical ties, the Republic of Korea and the five Central Asian countries have developed broad cooperation and relations of trust spanning trade and investment, industry and infrastructure, and education and culture." He added, "Now is the time to jointly prepare for the next 30 years, building on the foundation of cooperation established over the past 30 years."
He emphasized, "The respective strengths of the Republic of Korea and Central Asia will offer boundless opportunities to address our respective challenges together." He continued, "Above all, I believe that when our cooperation expands beyond individual countries to the regional level, we can bring forward the future of shared prosperity."
He added, "I hope that today's meeting will become an important milestone leading to a new leap forward."

[email protected] Choi Jong-geun Reporter