South Korea and Kazakhstan signed a memorandum of understanding on cooperation on the peaceful use of nuclear energy as their leaders met on Tuesday and pledged to work together on trade, energy and critical minerals and AI, Seoul said.
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung and Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev discussed potential for further cooperation at a time of global economic turbulence, the South Korean presidential office said.
“Kazakhstan holds immense potential in future high-tech industries, being a key partner for South Korea,” Lee told Tokayev, according to the presidential office.
The MoU on atomic energy was among 13 documents signed on Tuesday, which also included cooperation on crude oil and on science and technology. Details were not immediately available.
Lee hosts Tokayev and the leaders of four other Central Asian countries on Wednesday for a multilateral summit to discuss expanding cooperation.
Seoul has pursued the so-called New Northern Policy launched in 2017 to deepen economic ties with Central Asia and other Eurasian partners as the energy-poor country seeks to diversify energy and mineral supply and export industrial prowess.
South Korean Prime Minister Han Seong-sook earlier told business leaders at a forum it was time for the two countries to go beyond trade in crude oil and uranium and include lithium and critical minerals.
She invited businesses to utilise South Korea’s advanced technology for the exploration and production of Kazakhstan’s rich mineral resources to help address growing uncertainties in global supply chains, the Newsis agency reported.
(Reporting by Jack Kim, Joyce Lee; Editing by Alex Richardson)
