BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 16. Uzbekistan President Shavkat Mirziyoyev called on South Korean companies to view Central Asia as a single investment market of more than 80 million people and invest in high-value manufacturing, technology and infrastructure projects across the region.
This was reflected in the statement by the press service of the Uzbek presidetnt.
Speaking at the first Central Asia-South Korea Business Summit in Seoul, Mirziyoyev said cooperation should be built around the complementary strengths of the region and South Korea, with a focus on developing complete production chains rather than exporting raw materials.
He highlighted Central Asia’s growing consumer demand as well as its resource, energy and human capital potential, saying the region could offer Korean companies a broad platform for investment.
Uzbekistan’s mineral resource base alone is estimated at at least $3 trillion, while the country plans to implement 120 critical-minerals projects worth more than $4 billion in the coming years.
Mirziyoyev proposed combining Central Asia’s resource base with South Korean financial and technological capabilities to develop deep processing and high-tech manufacturing.
"We propose to combine the region’s resource base with Korea’s financial and technological capabilities, focusing not on the export of raw materials, but on deep processing and the production of finished high-tech products," Mirziyoyev said.
He also highlighted opportunities for joint research and technology development, proposing closer cooperation between Korean companies, universities and research centers and their Central Asian counterparts to develop new products and intellectual property.
Artificial intelligence was identified as another major area of cooperation. Mirziyoyev said AI could generate at least $10 billion in additional value in each Central Asian economy over five years.
Uzbekistan has established an AI data-center hub in Karakalpakstan with preferential conditions and invited South Korean companies to invest in the sector.
The president also pointed to opportunities in semiconductors and microelectronics. A joint Center for Semiconductor, Industrial Microelectronics and New Materials Design and Testing is being established at the Future Technologies Center in Nurafshan.
Uzbekistan is prepared to provide conditions for Korean and Central Asian companies to establish research divisions and laboratories in the country, he said.
Biotechnology and pharmaceuticals were also highlighted as promising areas. Uzbekistan’s pharmaceutical and medical-device market has reached $3 billion, and Mirziyoyev proposed creating a biopharmaceutical cluster combining research, clinical facilities and manufacturing.
The president said workforce development should accompany industrial cooperation, including a regional engineering training program and internships for specialists at Korean laboratories and advanced companies.
Uzbekistan is also inviting Korean companies to participate in projects involving copper processing, electrical equipment, automotive and electric-vehicle components, robotics and automation, biotechnology, pharmaceuticals, hydropower, energy-storage systems, power-grid modernization, transport and urban infrastructure.
The proposals form part of Uzbekistan’s broader effort to deepen economic integration between Central Asia and South Korea through investment, technology transfer, industrial cooperation and higher-value production.
