Tashkent, Uzbekistan (UzDaily.com) -- A meeting was held at the International Institute of Central Asia (MICA) with representatives of the Expert Forum for South Korean-Central Asian Cooperation, headed by Secretary General Sung-Hoon Jae.

The meeting was also attended by the head of the Central Asian Studies Department of the Hankuk University of Foreign Studies (HUFS) Lee Ji-yong, experts from the Korean Institute of International Economic Policy (KIEP) Park Chung-ho, the Korean Institute of National Unification (KINU) Hyun Seung-soo and others.

During the conversation, experts pointed out the interest of government circles in South Korea in strengthening partnerships with Central Asian countries in priority areas of mutually beneficial cooperation.

As the head of the South Korean delegation, Sung-Hoon Jae, said, “despite the fact that we represent different Korean think tanks, we have united to jointly promote relations with your region.”

He particularly emphasized the need to continue substantive negotiations in order to discuss and identify concrete and practical opportunities for cooperation between South Korea and Central Asian countries.

The parties also discussed the organization of the Forum of South Korean and Central Asian experts with the aim of developing new proposals and recommendations for the cooperation agenda in the “Central Asia - Republic of Korea” format.

In conclusion, the parties agreed to increase cooperation between research organizations and think tanks in priority areas.

The Expert Forum on South Korean-Central Asian Cooperation was created at the Center for Euro-Asian Studies at Hankuk University of External Studies to study issues of cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Central Asia.