S. Korea, Central Asia agree to closer cooperation

By Lee Chi-dong
SEOUL, Dec. 2 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and Central Asian nations agreed Wednesday
to boost ties in energy development, green growth, higher education, and the
health sector at an annual high-level forum here, officials said.

Vice Foreign Minister Shin Kak-soo said the two sides will push for
"future-oriented" cooperation on the basis of their historical relations and
emotional bonds.
"We agreed to share our experience and wisdom on future-oriented issues such as
the strengthening of national competitiveness, efficient use of energy, and
education of human resources for national development," Shin told reporters after
a session at the third Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Forum held at the National
Museum of Korea in Yongsan, central Seoul.
South Korea is the only nation that holds such a regular high-level forum with
all the five Central Asian countries -- Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan,
Turkmenistan, and Tajikistan.
More than 50 representatives from the five nations took part in the forum, with
each delegation headed by vice foreign ministers or officials with equivalent
posts. Around 400 South Korean government officials, business leaders, scholars,
and students also joined it.
Shin said Seoul will push for the establishment of a Korea-Central Asia
Cooperation Center aimed at promoting economic and cultural relations between the
two sides.
More than 300,000 ethnic Koreans, known as "Koryoin," reside in the Central Asian
region, a legacy of the mass immigration of Koreans to the Soviet region during
the declining years of Korea's Joseon Dynasty (1392-1910) in the 19th century.
Many moved to Siberia, which they believed was a prosperous land, but were
forcefully moved to Central Asian states under Stalin's rule in the late 1930s.
For Korea, Central Asia also served as a window for trade and other contact with
the Western world in ancient times via the Silk Road, an extensive interconnected
network of trade routes.
lcd@yna.co.kr
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