Business circles of Kyrgyzstan and South Korea develop mutually beneficial relations

On July 17-18, two Kyrgyz-Korean business forums were held in Bishkek.

The prime ministers of Kyrgyzstan and the Republic of Korea, as well as more than two hundred business representatives from the two countries, including 50 Korean companies took part in the event held as a part of the official visit of Prime Minister of the Republic of Korea Lee Nak-yeon to the Kyrgyz Republic.

The business forums organized by the Chambers of Commerce and Industry of the Kyrgyz Republic and South Korea aimed to build mutually beneficial relations between the business circles of Kyrgyzstan and South Korea.

The forum participants addressed issues of further development of cooperation in trade, agriculture, healthcare, the mining industry, tourism, energy, transport, textile industry, and information technology, as well as strengthening cultural and humanitarian ties.

In 2018, the trade turnover between the two countries was less than $30 million. In Kyrgyzstan, 976 enterprises with Korean capital are registered, of which 352 are joint ventures. From 2010 to 2018, the economy of the Kyrgyz Republic received $68.8 million of direct Korean investment.

“I believe that we do not fully use the existing potential. We have good opportunities to improve our mutual trade and economic cooperation,” said Prime Minister of Kyrgyzstan Mukhammedkaly Abylgaziyev.

It was announced at the forum that the Korean International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) plans to implement four projects in Kyrgyzstan worth $20.5 million. In addition, during the talks, the possible support of the introduction of digital technologies and regions of Kyrgyzstan by the Korean side was discussed.

Improving the investment climate will lead to an increase in Korean investment, since Korean business is ready to cooperate in various fields in Kyrgyzstan, Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon said.