The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said it discussed economic cooperation with Kazakhstan to secure projects such as energy and material plants and establish a stable supply chain for key minerals.

Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Lee Chang-yang met with First Deputy Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Sklyar Roman at the Lotte Hotel in Seoul on the 14th and discussed pending economic cooperation issues between the two countries, including plant orders and cooperation on mineral resources.

The two sides meaningfully evaluated the fact that trade cooperation between the two countries reached its highest-ever level (USD 6.5 billion) last year, despite internal and external difficulties as Korea and Canada celebrated the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations, thanks to the expansion of automobile exports and crude oil imports, and agreed to work closely together to produce more tangible cooperation results in the future.

Trade volume between Korea and Kazakhstan is expected to increase from $3.1 billion in 2020 to $6.5 billion in 2022.

The minister emphasized the successful cooperation between the two countries in infrastructure and energy projects, including the Almaty Outer Ring Expressway, which has been promoted under the leadership of the First Deputy Prime Minister, the Tangiz Oil Field Oil Production Plant, and the Shymkent Combined Cycle Power Plant, and asked for interest so that our companies can smoothly win new projects, such as energy and material plants, in the future.

Both sides agreed that Kazakhstan has abundant mineral resources, including rare metals, and that Korea possesses excellent technology and human resources necessary for mineral development, making it the optimal cooperative partner for establishing a stable supply chain for key minerals, and are seeking to strengthen cooperation.The two governments agreed to communicate closely.

Kazakhstan is rich in mineral resources, including chromium (1st), uranium (2nd), zinc (8th), manganese (9th), copper (11th), and iron ore (12th) in terms of reserves.

Deputy Prime Minister Sklyar expressed the Kazakh government’s active interest and willingness to support the expansion of economic exchanges with Korea, saying that Kazakhstan is operating a special working group between Korea and South Korea to support the business activities of Korean companies.

The Minister expressed his gratitude to First Deputy Prime Minister Sklyar for his strong interest in and support for local business activities of our companies, and asked for his active support for expanding economic cooperation between the two countries in the future.