South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced on Friday that Seoul will host the inaugural Korea–Central Asia Summit on September 17.
This will the first leader-level multilateral meeting between the Republic of Korea and the five Central Asian nations of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.
The summit, confirmed by Seoul’s presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, will provide a platform for elevating cooperation that has continued at the ministerial level since the Korea–Central Asia Cooperation Forum was launched in 2007, and is expected to adopt a “Seoul Declaration” setting out a long-term partnership framework.
Speaking at a meeting with senior aides at the Blue House on Friday, President Lee underscored the strategic rationale behind the gathering.
“Central Asia is the geographical center of the Eurasian continent, and it is a region that has very big potential for growth with ample energy and core mineral resources,” Lee said.
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“Through the upcoming summit, relations between Korea and Central Asia will be cemented in multilateral cooperation, and our New Northern Policy that we have been implementing will gain momentum.”
Ahead of the six-way summit, Lee will hold separate bilateral meetings with each of the five Central Asian heads of state between September 14 and 16. The leaders of Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, and Kazakhstan will arrive on state visits, while the Tajik and Kyrgyz leaders will make official visits.
The summit’s substantive agenda spans trade and investment, energy resources, critical minerals, supply chain diversification, and infrastructure and plant projects.
Cooperation will also cover customs, regulations, and intellectual property. Looking further ahead, Seoul has indicated its intention to deepen ties in artificial intelligence, digital technology, science, climate response, water management, and disaster preparedness over the next thirty years.
Kazakhstan, South Korea’s largest trading partner and investment destination in Central Asia, presents particular strategic weight.
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Bilateral trade reached $3.17 billion in 2025, and South Korea’s cumulative investment in Kazakhstan has surpassed $10 billion over two decades.
Discussions between President Lee and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev are expected to include the landmark Alatau City urban development project.
The summit follows the long postponement of an earlier planned meeting that had been disrupted by South Korea’s domestic political turbulence in late 2024, and comes just months after Japan held its own inaugural leaders-level meeting with Central Asia in December 2025.
Following the summit, the six leaders will attend a Korea–Central Asia Business Summit involving approximately 500 government and corporate representatives, followed by an official state dinner.
