1. The “Korea-Central Asia Business Council” which Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang, Kyung-wha and her counterparts of five Central Asian countries agreed to establish at the 12^th Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum (Oct. 2019) was launched on June 29. The Council is the first multilateral consultative mechanism where business organizations of the Republic of Korea and Central Asian countries participate.

2. The online signing ceremony of the Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on the establishment of the “Korea-Central Asia Business Council” took place at COEX on June 29. Participants from the ROK side were Deputy Minister for Political Affairs of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs Kim Gunn, Chairman of the Korea International Trade Association Kim Young-ju, and Executive director of the Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum Secretariat Kim Sung-in. Participants from Central Asia, who took part in the event online, were representatives from the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic, the Republic of Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and the Republic of Uzbekistan, as well as the Chamber of International Commerce of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

o In his congratulatory remarks at the ceremony, Deputy Minister Kim Gunn said that he finds it meaningful that the Business Council has been created even amid difficulties in exchanges due to COVID-19, and added that the ROK government will provide active support so that various cooperation projects between the ROK and Central Asia can be discussed at the Council.

3. The Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum Secretariat, which will be in charge of the operation of the Council, will regularly hold joint events promoting bilateral substantive cooperation together with the Korea International Trade Association and the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the five Central Asian countries, including business networking events and one-on-one business consulting sessions.

4. The launch of the Korea-Central Asia Business Council is expected to further facilitate economic exchanges and cooperation between the ROK and Central Asia.