South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol (R) and United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan pose for a photo during their talks at the presidential office in Seoul on May 29, 2024, in this photo provided by Yoon’s office. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
SEOUL, Jun. 10 (Korea Bizwire) — After hosting an inaugural summit with 48 African nations last week, President Yoon Suk Yeol is now heading to Central Asia for another round of “sales diplomacy” aimed at enhancing economic partnerships with resource-rich nations.
Yoon kicked off a weeklong trip to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan on Monday for state visits aimed at exploring avenues for expanding economic cooperation, particularly in critical minerals and other vital sectors.
Accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee and economic delegations comprising over 60 companies, Yoon plans to sign a slew of agreements across various sectors, including critical minerals, energy, infrastructure, climate change and technology.
The overseas trip, the first since his state visit to the Netherlands in December, comes at a time when Yoon needs fresh momentum to boost his low approval ratings in order to push forward his major agenda in the opposition-controlled National Assembly.
He had postponed visits to foreign countries earlier this year to focus on domestic affairs ahead of the April parliamentary elections but ended up witnessing his ruling People Power Party suffer a crushing defeat.
Over the last two months, Yoon has rebooted diplomacy aimed at expanding practical cooperation for major industries.
Last month, he hosted a trilateral summit with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kihida and Chinese Primer Li Qiang, the first such gathering in more than four years, and held separate bilateral talks with the leaders on expanding trade and investment opportunities.
Notably, the leaders agreed to resume talks on a three-way FTA, which were suspended in November 2019.
Yoon then held a summit with United Arab Emirates President Mohamed bin Zayed Al Nahyan, which culminated in the signing of a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA), which would lift tariffs on more than 90 percent of most goods between the two countries.
During the visit, South Korea and the UAE signed 19 agreements and memorandums of understanding, including a letter of intent to build at least six LNG carriers worth $1.5 billion.
Last week, the president hosted the inaugural Korea-Africa Summit with representatives from 48 African countries, which adopted a joint declaration to boost trade and investment and to collaborate on critical minerals and development projects.
The leaders also agreed to launch a ministerial-level critical mineral dialogue to ensure a resilient supply chain of resources needed for chips, batteries and renewable energy.
President Yoon Suk Yeol delivers a keynote speech during the Korea-Africa Business Forum held at the Lotte Hotel Seoul on June 5, 2024, in this photo provided by the presidential office. (Image courtesy of Yonhap)
Yoon’s tour of the three Central Asian countries is expected to build on the momentum from the recent diplomacy focused on practical economic cooperation.
His selection of Central Asia as this year’s first overseas trip underscores the significant potential for resource cooperation with the region, with a vast area of land and a population of 80 million, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Park Chun-sup said in a briefing Friday.
“The abundance of oil, gas and critical minerals presents a significant potential for continued collaboration with us, as we need to further develop advanced industries,” Park said.
Principal Deputy National Security Adviser Kim Tae-hyo said the visits will help create new business opportunities for South Korean companies in areas of critical mineral supply chains, energy plants, infrastructure and other development projects.
During the tour, Yoon plans to announce the launch of a new initiative, called the “K-Silk Road,” centered on creating a new cooperation model by linking South Korea’s innovative capabilities with Central Asia’s abundant resources and development potential.
The latest diplomatic push comes as South Korea, home to the world’s major chip and battery makers, has been seeking to diversify its import portfolio of key industrial materials to reduce its reliance on a limited set of countries, including China.
Despite the growing importance of critical minerals for energy security and industrial resilience, Korean companies lag behind major nations in both domestic and overseas core mineral mine ownership and production share.
South Korea has set a goal of reducing its dependency on specific countries for 185 items, including graphite and rare earth magnets, to under 50 percent by 2030, compared with the current estimate of 70 percent.
Last month, the government announced plans to expand support for the industry to help secure critical minerals, including 9.7 trillion won (US$7 billion) in policy financing for related investments.
(Yonhap)
