Governors from 3 Uzbek provinces attend; 9 of 14 regional governments participate

Park Chan-dae: 'Local diplomacy opens the path — we will repay it with results residents can feel'

The Korean Governors Association holds the Korea-Uzbekistan Local Government Cooperation Forum at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Friday. [Korean Governors Association]
The Korean Governors Association holds the Korea-Uzbekistan Local Government Cooperation Forum at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Friday. [Korean Governors Association]

A forum bringing together local governments from South Korea and Uzbekistan opened Friday, ahead of next week's inaugural Korea-Central Asia Summit and a planned visit to South Korea by the Uzbek president.

The Korean Governors Association held the Korea-Uzbekistan Local Government Cooperation Forum at JW Marriott Dongdaemun Square in Jongno-gu, Seoul, on Friday.

Co-hosted with the Uzbekistan Embassy in Seoul, the forum centered on the theme "Current Status and Outlook of Korea-Uzbekistan Local Cooperation" and brought together local governments, government agencies and businesses from both countries to explore ways to expand inter-regional exchanges into concrete economic and industrial cooperation.

Nine of Uzbekistan's 14 regional administrative units took part in the forum. Senior local government delegations in attendance included Fergana Province Governor Khayrullo Bozarov, Namangan Province Governor Savkat Abdurazzakov and Tashkent Province Governor Zoir Mirzayev.

Discussions at the forum focused on human resources development, social and cultural exchange, and industrial investment and the digital economy. A business forum held afterward facilitated B2B and G2B meetings between local governments and companies from both sides, with the aim of turning inter-regional ties into investment and business opportunities.

The Korean Governors Association plans to carry the forum's outcomes into the third Korea-Central Asia Local Government Cooperation Forum, scheduled for November in Samarkand, Uzbekistan, and to continue expanding practical cooperation between Korean and Central Asian local governments.

"When central-government diplomacy opens the road, local-government exchanges put people on it," Korean Governors Association Chairman Park Chan-dae said. "I hope the 30 existing partnerships between Korean and Uzbek local governments will translate into concrete projects, and that the two countries will nurture talent together to become sustainable partners."


thlee@heraldcorp.com