Key Takeaways:
- At President Lee Jae-myung’s invitation, Uzbekistan’s Shavkat Mirziyoyev began a third state visit to Seoul on 13 September 2026 (after 2017 and December 2021) to deepen a “special strategic partnership” and join the first Central Asia–Korea summit. Seoul recognized Uzbekistan in December 1991; Karimov visited eight times. Koryo-saram are cited as a people-to-people tie.
- Talks listed trade, investment, critical minerals, transport, and infrastructure. A project portfolio near $12 billion and a new Eximbank partnership program were announced, plus an IT, cyber, and health “innovation alliance.” About 700 Korean-capital joint ventures and more than $8 billion of Korean investment are cited; documents covered transport, aviation, AI, education, and more. 2027 is to be a Year of Culture and Mutual Exchanges.
- Four Korean university branches and five KOICA vocational centers operate in Uzbekistan. Uzbek residents in Korea were near 95,000 in 2024. Meetings with Speaker Cho Jeong-sik and PM Han Seong-sook preceded the 16 September C5+Korea summit and an expected Seoul Declaration on trade, investment, infrastructure, and digital ties.
At the invitation of President of the Republic of Korea Lee Jae-myung, President of Uzbekistan Shavkat Mirziyoyev began a state visit to Seoul on September 13, aimed at expanding the Uzbek-Korean special strategic partnership and taking part in the first Central Asia-Republic of Korea summit. It is Mirziyoyev’s third state visit to Seoul, following a first trip in 2017 and a second in December 2021.
South Korea was the first country in the Asia-Pacific to recognize Uzbekistan’s independence, in December 1991, and the two nations established diplomatic relations the following January. Ties have grown steadily under the first President of Uzbekistan Islam Karimov as he visited Seoul eight times during his presidency. South Korea also played a crucial role in Uzbekistan’s technological and industrial transformation during its early years of independence. Moreover, Uzbekistan is home to a large ethnic Korean community, the Koryo-saram, whose ancestors were relocated from the Soviet Far East to Central Asia in the late 1930s, has long served as a bridge between the two peoples.
President Mirziyoyev and the First Lady of Uzbekistan were welcomed at Seoul Air Base with an honor guard, then paid tribute to those who gave their lives for Korea’s freedom and independence at the National Memorial Complex before an official welcoming ceremony at the Cheong Wa Dae presidential residence on September 14.
High-level talks with Lee Jae-myung focused on deepening the special strategic partnership. Mirziyoyev outlined five priority areas for economic cooperation: trade, investment, critical minerals, transport and infrastructure. The two sides agreed on an investment portfolio of projects worth close to $12 billion and adopted a new strategic partnership program with the Export-Import Bank of Korea. They also discussed an innovation and technology alliance focused on IT, cybersecurity, medicine, healthcare and pharmaceuticals.
Education featured prominently in the talks. Four branches of South Korean universities and five KOICA-backed vocational training centers currently operate in Uzbekistan. According to Uzbekistan’s Statistics Agency, more than 1,500 Uzbek citizens traveled to South Korea for study purposes in the first half of 2025 alone. The countries agreed to declare 2027 the “Year of Culture and Mutual Exchanges.” Following the negotiations, the sides signed a package of documents covering transport, aviation, agriculture, tourism, artificial intelligence, education, medical product regulation and archival cooperation.
More than 700 joint ventures with Korean capital currently operate in Uzbekistan, and South Korean investment in the economy has exceeded $8 billion. Korean firms such as POSCO and Samsung have built projects ranging from textile clusters to silicon processing facilities, while dozens of additional projects are underway with the Korea International Cooperation Agency, Eximbank and the Economic Development Cooperation Fund in healthcare, ICT, agriculture and energy. Cooperation has also produced notable transport deals, including a $196 million agreement in 2024 to bring Korea Train Express technology to Uzbekistan and a $223 million contract awarded to Incheon International Airport Corporation last year to modernize Urgench Airport. The president also spoke at the opening of the Uzbek-Korean Business Forum in Seoul.
On September 15, Mirziyoyev met National Assembly Speaker Cho Jeong-sik, with both sides highlighting the Electronic Parliament project supported by KOICA and agreeing to hold a series of parliamentary diplomacy events in 2027 to mark the 35th anniversary of diplomatic relations. He also received Prime Minister Han Seong-sook, with discussions centering on critical minerals processing, the digital economy, cybersecurity and railway infrastructure.
Throughout the visit, Mirziyoyev met with members of the Uzbek community in Korea, whose numbers have grown rapidly in recent years. According to a report by the Central Bank of Uzbekistan, the number of Uzbek residents in South Korea approached 95,000 in 2024, one of the country’s largest communities abroad after Russia and Kazakhstan. Thousands of Uzbek citizens also work in Korea each year under the Employment Permit System, alongside a growing number of students and long-term residents.
The visit concludes with the first Central Asia-Republic of Korea summit on September 16, bringing together the leaders of Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan in Seoul. It is expected to conclude with the adoption of a Seoul Declaration addressing trade, investment, infrastructure and digital transformation.
