Amid their first leader-level summit, South Korea and the five Central Asian states set a course for deeper relations centered on critical minerals, energy, and emerging technology, with a focus on seeking out mutual benefits and climbing the value chain together. 

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung called for the forging of a “new Silk Road.”

“If we walk together, I am certain that the road of 1,500 years ago will reopen as a new and beautiful Silk Road,” Lee said. “If the five countries gathered here today and we in the Republic of Korea pool our wisdom and join hands, there is nothing we cannot achieve together.”

On September 16 in Seoul, Lee met with the presidents of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan together for the first time, taking advantage of the C5+1 format that has become an increasingly popular vehicle for external powers to engage with the Central Asian region. 

Since 2007, Central Asian and South Korean officials have met at the vice-ministerial level, upgrading to the ministerial level in 2019 and now the presidential level. 

South Korea has long been an important partner for the region, though it flies under the geopolitical radar homed in on Russia, China, and the United States. Although the Central Asian states are marginal trade partners for South Korea, whose GDP of approximately $1.93 trillion makes it the 15th largest globally, Seoul is a top-10 trade partner for Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, and Uzbekistan. That trade, however, is often heavily weighted in South Korea’s favor, as in the case of Tajikistan – according to the Observatory of Economic Complexity (OEC), in July 2026 South Korea exported $31.6 million in goods to Tajikistan (mostly cars and other vehicles) and imported $0. 

For Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan, the balance is better and the trade volumes bigger. In July 2026, OEC data stated, South Korea exported $158 million in goods (mostly cars and other vehicles but also beauty products) to Kazakhstan and imported imported $142 million (mostly crude petroleum, coal, and ferroalloys). In regard to Uzbekistan, South Korea exported $182 million in goods (mostly cars and other vehicles, as well as vehicles parts, but also – and I confess I don’t understand – $21.1 million in the “brochures” category); Uzbekistan meanwhile sent $7.06 million in goods (refined petroleum, perfume plants and medical instruments) to South Korea. 

In his remarks, Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev highlighted Kazakhstan’s leading place in Central Asia-South Korea trade – representing half of it – and the prevalence of well-known Korean companies in Kazakhstan.

“More than 1,000 joint ventures with Korean capital operate in Kazakhstan,” he said. “Leading companies such as Kia, Hyundai, Doosan, Posco, Samsung, Lotte, and Hanwha have been successfully operating in the Kazakhstani market for many years.”

“There is significant potential in the industrial sector that requires further deepening economic cooperation,” Tokayev added. He made the case for further Korean investment in Central Asia, taking advantage of expanding trade and transit corridor across the Eurasian landmass.

Tokayev proposed launching a Central Asia-Korea industrial and technological development partnership. “Within this framework, our governments could create a portfolio of flagship joint projects with a focus on localization of production, technology transfer, development of regional cooperation, and export of finished products to third-country markets,” he added.

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan’s President Shavkat Mirziyoyev had his own proposals, mirroring those of Tokayev, including for a Central Asia-Korea Industrial and Technological Park

Energy and critical minerals – the former always in vogue and the latter the hottest topic at present – naturally received intense attention. 

On the energy front, conditions are not ideal but ambitions remains. “We are prepared to expand cooperation in this area, including resuming energy supplies to Korea,” Tokayev said. Recurring attacks on Caspian Pipeline Consortium (CPC) infrastructure in recent years (and problems in the Red Sea in past years) have hassled and occasionally halted exports. About 80 percent of Kazakhstan’s oil exports pass through the pipeline system that carries Kazakh crude from the country to Russia’s Novorossiysk port, on the Black Sea. 

Critical minerals are the crux of nearly every conversation with Central Asian states these days, with external powers interested in what Central Asian can provide and regional governments keenly aware of both the opportunity at hand and the risks.

Mirziyoyev commented, “Today, Central Asia is no longer just a supplier of raw materials.” That may be putting the cart before the horse, but highlights regional ambitions to move up the value chain when it comes to critical minerals. 

“Given the rapidly growing demand for this valuable raw material and its vast reserves in Central Asia, the region is capable of becoming a leading supplier on the global market. Korea’s advanced technology and capital can play a decisive role in this,” Mirziyoyev said. He proposed a “Regional Investment Alliance for Critical Minerals.”

“Remarkably, all 10 minerals classified by Korea as strategic are present in our country’s mineral resource base,” Tokayev said, pitching Kazakhstan’s resource wealth. “The combination of Kazakhstan’s resource potential and Korea’s technological capabilities opens up broad prospects for mutually beneficial cooperation.”

Lee, in his remarks, spoke right to the heart of Central Asian ambitions. If trade at present is dominated by Korean cars and Central Asian oil, both sides are looking to what’s next. 

“We now need to move beyond these items and expand the scope of trade into new industries, including consumer goods, biotechnology, and digital sectors,” Lee said. He added, “As global supply chains are being reorganized, Central Asia is emerging as a treasure trove of critical minerals essential for the production of electric vehicles, batteries and semiconductors.”

The summit ended with a declaration – the Seoul Declaration – charting out a 30-year plan to expand ties and to institutionalize relations. As Ji Da-gyum wrote for The Korea Herald, one of the central motivations for the Seoul Declaration is to turn existing political commitment “into a more durable institutional framework.” Under that emerging framework leaders-level summits are expected biennially, with the next envisioned for 2028 in Kazakhstan.