South Korea’s Lee to host Central Asia summit in Seoul next week

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung announced on Friday that he will host the inaugural South Korea-Central Asia summit next week in Seoul. The gathering will bring together the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan to enhance economic and strategic relationships between the two regions.

Lee stated in televised remarks that this summit will establish a leader-level multilateral cooperation framework, bolstering the New Northern Policy pursued by his administration. The summit, scheduled for Wednesday, is the first of its kind between South Korea and the five Central Asian nations, with the aim of deepening cooperation in areas such as trade, investment, energy, critical minerals, and supply chains.

Prior to the summit, Lee is set to meet each Central Asian leader separately from September 14 to 16. Presidential spokesman Kang Yu-jung confirmed these bilateral meetings. The New Northern Policy, initiated under former President Moon Jae-in, seeks to strengthen economic, energy, and infrastructure ties with Central Asia and other Eurasian partners.