South Korea and the five Central Asian republics held their first heads-of-state summit in Seoul on Wednesday, adopting a 30-year cooperation framework that prioritises critical minerals, energy, supply chains and emerging technologies. The meeting, framed by a shared Silk Road heritage, produced the Seoul Declaration, which establishes a biennial leaders' summit and a new mechanism for the six countries' industry ministers to coordinate policy.
South Korean President Lee Jae-myung invoked the historical trade routes that once linked East and West, saying the “Silk Road spirit” of Central Asia is “needed more than ever.” The summit reflects converging interests: Seoul seeks to diversify its sources of critical materials and strengthen supply-chain resilience, while Central Asian governments want technology, investment, and a larger role in processing and manufacturing the resources they export.
From raw materials to value chains
The Seoul Declaration, which builds on a dialogue that began at vice-ministerial level in 2007 and was later elevated to ministerial level, calls for “mutually beneficial value chains” that combine Central Asian resources and local production with Korean technology and manufacturing expertise. Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev stressed that Central Asia is “no longer merely a supplier of raw materials,” noting that the region is “actively integrating into global value chains while expanding opportunities for innovation and technological cooperation.”
Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev said his country possesses all ten minerals that South Korea classifies as strategic, and proposed cooperation extending into semiconductors, batteries, electric-vehicle components and robotics. Mirziyoyev suggested a Regional Investment Alliance for Critical Minerals covering the full production cycle, and set a target of $20 billion (€17.3 billion) in trade between South Korea and Central Asia by 2030. Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov went further, proposing a joint investment fund to finance priority projects and ease Korean companies' entry into Central Asian markets.
Transport links to Europe
Transport was a key focus, with Tokayev proposing an “end-to-end transport and logistics chain extending from Korea, through Central Asia, to Europe.” Central to this vision is the Middle Corridor, formally the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route, which moves freight through Central Asia, across the Caspian Sea to Azerbaijan and Georgia, and onward to European markets via Turkey or the Black Sea. The corridor has gained traction as companies and governments seek alternatives to routes through Russia; Tokayev said its freight volumes had increased fivefold over the past six years.
Mirziyoyev described Central Asia as an emerging “hub of global connectivity,” while Japarov highlighted the China–Kyrgyzstan–Uzbekistan railway and invited Korean companies to participate in industrial and logistics facilities along the route. Turkmenistan listed transport, logistics, energy and industrial cooperation among its priorities, while Tajik President Emomali Rahmon focused on water security, climate change and sustainable development.
From politics to business
The regional agenda moved from the leaders' table to the business community later in the day, when more than 500 government and company representatives gathered for the first Korea–Central Asia Business Summit. Lee Jae-myung described the priorities in practical terms: broader trade and investment, cooperation across the critical-minerals value chain, and new infrastructure connecting the region with international markets.
Tokayev pointed to Central Asia's combined GDP of nearly $550 billion and growth of more than 6%. “Combining these advantages with Korea's industrial, technological and financial capabilities opens up broad prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation,” he said. Mirziyoyev urged Korean companies to view Central Asia as a single market of more than 80 million people, with opportunities in AI, semiconductors and advanced manufacturing.
Nineteen memorandums of understanding were signed during the business summit, covering critical minerals, industry, infrastructure and digital technologies. These set out areas for future cooperation but are not, in themselves, final investment contracts. The regional meetings ran alongside separate bilateral talks and business programmes between South Korea and individual Central Asian states, with Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan among those announcing national agreements and investment projects.
The new leaders' summit format will meet again in Kazakhstan in 2028, institutionalising a relationship that both sides see as increasingly strategic. For Europe, the Middle Corridor's growth offers an alternative trade route that bypasses Russia, a development with implications for EU energy and supply-chain policy. As Central Asia integrates more deeply into global value chains, its partnerships with Asian and European players are likely to reshape regional trade dynamics.
