Korea Research Foundation president meets Kyrgyz minister of science, higher education and innovation

Gulzat Isamatova, Kyrgyzstan's minister of science, higher education and innovation, and Hong Won-hwa, president of the Korea Research Foundation, pose for a photo. [Korea Research Foundation]
Gulzat Isamatova, Kyrgyzstan's minister of science, higher education and innovation, and Hong Won-hwa, president of the Korea Research Foundation, pose for a photo. [Korea Research Foundation]

South Korea and Kyrgyzstan have agreed to expand cooperation in ICT talent development and higher education, with plans to support local educational and research capacity and digital transformation through partnerships between Korean and Kyrgyz universities.

The Korea Research Foundation said President Hong Won-hwa met Tuesday with Gulzat Isamatova, Kyrgyzstan's minister of science, higher education and innovation, to discuss expanding higher education cooperation and official development assistance.

The meeting was arranged on the sidelines of the first Korea-Central Asia Summit. Both sides reviewed progress in education and research cooperation and discussed ways to broaden the scope of future collaboration.

Particular attention was given to the outcomes of the Leading University Support Project for International Cooperation, a higher education ODA initiative supported by the Korea Research Foundation, and to plans for its sustainable development.

Korean universities are currently working with Kyrgyz counterparts in areas including nursing, computer science and information and innovation technology. Through these partnerships, the two sides have supported the establishment of health care and ICT departments, the development of educational infrastructure, and the strengthening of teaching and research capacity at local universities.

The two sides also agreed to deepen ICT education cooperation to support Kyrgyzstan's digital transformation. They plan to develop and operate new ICT curricula and expand faculty and student exchanges, while also discussing ways to strengthen teaching capacity in Korean language and Korean studies, areas of growing demand in the country.

Minister Isamatova said cooperation with South Korea "has contributed greatly to strengthening higher education and research capacity in Kyrgyzstan," and called for continued collaboration on expanding ICT infrastructure and developing skilled talent.

Hong said Kyrgyzstan is "a key cooperation partner in Central Asia," adding that he hopes "to build on the higher education cooperation model to achieve tangible results in ICT, science and technology, and academic exchange, further deepening the trust between our two countries."


nbgkoo@heraldcorp.com