The key facts

  • Tanzila Narbayeva met with the head of the Korea Importers Association, Yun Yong-Mi
  • They discussed food exports, compensation of logistics costs and joint production
  • The idea of a free trade agreement has been discussed since 2018; in 2021 the parties agreed to speed up negotiations

Talks in Seoul

Uzbekistan and South Korea continue working on a free trade agreement and expanding trade turnover. The talks took place during a visit by a parliamentary delegation of the upper chamber of the Oliy Majlis to the Republic of Korea.

What the parties discussed

Senate Chairperson Tanzila Narbayeva met with the head of the Korea Importers Association, Yun Yong-Mi. The parties discussed the development of trade and economic cooperation and expanding supplies of Uzbek goods to the Korean market, primarily food and agricultural products. Support for local exporters and cooperation between business circles were also touched upon.

Practical issues

In addition to the free trade agreement, the parties exchanged views on compensating logistics costs for Uzbek exporters, promoting their products in Korean retail chains and establishing joint production facilities. The importance of establishing consultations between relevant ministries and agencies and of 'developing concrete proposals' was noted.

A long history of negotiations

The idea of a trade package has been discussed for several years. At the first Uzbek-Korean meeting on economic cooperation in February 2018, then-Minister of Foreign Trade Jamshid Khodjaev proposed considering a preferential agreement or a free trade zone, noting that high tariffs in Korea hinder supplies of Uzbek fruit and vegetable products. In July 2020, the Dunyo agency reported on public hearings in Seoul, which had been preceded by joint feasibility studies for such a document.

Acceleration since 2021

In January 2021, South Korean President Moon Jae-in announced plans to accelerate negotiations on free trade agreements with Uzbekistan, the Philippines and Cambodia. Yonhap reported on his talks with Shavkat Mirziyoyev: if concluded, the document would become Seoul's first trade pact under the 'New Southern Policy'. In November 2021, Minister of Investments and Foreign Trade Sardor Umrzakov and South Korean Minister of Economy and Finance Hong Nam-ki agreed to speed up negotiations on a free trade zone, as well as to strengthen cooperation in global supply chains and joint development of technologies for producing critical materials.