1. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs will form the Republic of Korea (ROK)-Republic of Kazakhstan water industry cooperation delegation, and hold a roundtable meeting and one-on-one consultations in the Kazakh capital of Nur-Sultan on October 16. The upcoming event will bring together a total of about 60 people, including delegates from the government and enterprises of the two countries in a bid to create overseas business opportunities for the ROK’s water industry under its New Northern Policy.

○ The one-day event will feature presentations by the Kazakh side on its water management policies, project bidding plans for water and sewerage treatment infrastructure or those for procurements; introduction by the ROK side on products and techniques of the ROK enterprises; and one-on-one business meetings between the ROK companies and the Kazakh government or company officials.

○ The Korea Water Resources Corporation, the Korea Water Partnership, and nine small- and medium-sized enterprises including Samjin Precision, USOL and HydroNet will join the event as the ROK delegates.

○ Government agencies, including the Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources, and nine companies such as Nurin Water Group Pipeline and Astana Su Arnasy will participate in the event as the Kazakh delegates.

2. The ROK Ministry of Foreign Affairs has planned and prepared for the event since early this year. A roundtable meeting with the ROK officials engaging in water industry sector in March this year; on-site market research through the ROK Embassy in Kazakhstan; and the 4^th International Water Industry Conference hosted by the ROK Foreign Ministry in Seoul in September 2019 served as a bridge in the preparations for the forthcoming event.

3. In the course of preparations for this event, the ROK Foreign Ministry has closely cooperated with the Kazakh Ministry of Ecology, Geology and Natural Resources, and Astana Su Arnasy. In addition, the Korea Water Partnership and the Korea Water Resources Corporation have provided full support and assistance to the ROK Foreign Ministry.

4. With respect to this, one official from the ROK Foreign Ministry mentioned that they will consider a way to hold such an event in other Central Asian countries and expressed hope that cooperation in water resources would be expanded between the ROK and Central Asian countries in medium- and long-term perspectives.