Kazakhstan and South Korea Strengthen Economic Ties
A Kazakh delegation headed by First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar has arrived in South Korea to develop economic cooperation between the countries. The delegation includes representatives from the Ministries of Foreign Affairs, Healthcare, Industry and Infrastructure Development, KAZAKH INVEST, SC-Pharmacy, as well as entrepreneurs and business association representatives. During the visit, meetings were held with the leaders of ministries and a number of major South Korean companies.
In particular, the Kazakh delegation held negotiations with the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea, Lee Chang-yang. First Deputy Prime Minister of the Republic of Kazakhstan Roman Sklyar spoke about the prospects of bilateral cooperation, emphasizing that South Korea is one of Kazakhstan's most important partners and ranks 6th in terms of investment in the country. Thus, over the past 18 years (since 2005), the gross inflow of investments from South Korea to Kazakhstan amounted to about $8.4 billion. As of 2022, the trade turnover between the countries amounted to $6.1 billion, and the gross inflow of investments set a record in the history of economic relations, reaching $1.48 billion. According to the First Deputy Prime Minister, the most priority areas of economic interaction are energy, mining and metallurgical complexes, mechanical engineering, electrical engineering, pharmaceuticals, transport infrastructure, education, and tourism.
In Seoul, the delegation met with the manufacturer of air and gas industrial compressors for the chemical and oil and gas industries, "Kwangshin Machine Industry". The Kazakh side proposed to localize the production of compressors in Kazakhstan.
The executive vice-president of SK, Kim Yoo-suk, expressed interest in implementing an investment project for the production of batteries for electric vehicles. According to him, the Korean company with an annual income of more than $138 billion was attracted by the presence of a rich raw material base in Kazakhstan and comfortable investment conditions. The company SK was also offered to implement projects in the mining and metallurgical complex industry.
During a meeting with the President of the Korean Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources (KIGAM), Lee Pyung-Koo, the parties discussed possible cooperation in the field of geological exploration of rare earth metals.
The President of KIA Motors Corporation, Song Ho-Sung, talked about the importance of the Kazakh market and plans to increase the productivity of the plant in Kazakhstan. It should be noted that in January 2023, the production of KIA cars was launched at the "SaryarkaAvtoProm" enterprise in Kostanay.
In addition, the Kazakh side also held negotiations with the South Korean giant, Samsung Electronics. At the meeting, the President of the company, Park Sung-hee, emphasized that the company is interested in implementing projects in a number of industries. In particular, projects are being developed for the production of medical devices and household appliances on the territory of Kazakhstan. The Kazakh side assured that it will provide full support to the projects of the South Korean company.
The Chairman of the Board of KAZAKH INVEST, Meirzhan Yussupov, told South Korean investors that attracting investments and building long-term partnerships with international investors is one of the constant priorities of the government of Kazakhstan. Last year, the country managed to attract a record $28 billion in investments, which testifies to the confidence of investors in Kazakhstan.
