Korea-Central Asia Summit exposes limits of bloc diplomacy

The inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit, held in Seoul, marked a significant milestone in the diplomatic relations between South Korea and the five Central Asian states. With 74 bilateral agreements and MOUs signed, and a unified "Seoul Declaration" issued, the summit represented the first time all five Central Asian countries — Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and Turkmenistan — met in Korea.

This event, reminiscent of the United States' "C5+1" initiative, signifies a new era of relations between Korea and Central Asia. South Korea's involvement in the region dates back to 1992, when it recognized the Central Asian states' independence from the Soviet Union. Since then, South Korea has been a consistent source of foreign direct investment (FDI), contributing $6.4 billion to the region last year.

The summit also highlighted the personal connections between the two regions, as Central Asia is home to nearly a third of a million ethnic Koreans deported to the region in 1937 by Joseph Stalin. Today, around 100,000 descendants of these deported Koreans still reside in Central Asia.

Brief written by urgent.news from The Korea Times's own syndicated text. Machine-written — may contain errors; check the original before relying on it.