South Korean president starts state visit to Uzbekistan
By Aynur Jafarova
President of South Korea Park Geun-hye started a state visit to Uzbekistan on June 16.
She was welcomed by Uzbek President Islam Karimov at the international airport in Tashkent.
The main events of the Korean leader's first state visit to Uzbekistan are scheduled for June 17.
President Karimov and his South Korean counterpart intend to discuss the priority directions of expanding the multifaceted bilateral cooperation in the long term, relevant regional and international issues.
The two countries are also expected to adopt a joint declaration on the further development and intensification of the strategic partnership, as well as to sign a package of inter-state and inter-ministerial documents on various areas of cooperation.
To date, Uzbekistan and South Korea have signed over 300 bilateral documents. The trade turnover between the two countries amounted to $2.12 billion in 2013. The total amount of investments attracted from South Korea in the Uzbek economy in the independence years exceeded $6 billion. Currently, some 412 enterprises with South Korean investments operate in Uzbekistan.