Han Seung-soo will visit Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Turkmenistan and Azerbaijan on 11-20 May for talks with state leaders on securing stable access to natural resources and increasing cooperation in the energy sector, the office said.

Topics such as bolstering South Korea’s participation in developing oil and gas fields and exploring mineral resources in those countries will top the talks, the office said.

Ways to increase South Korean firms’ advance into the local construction, textile, manufacturing and IT markets, will also be discussed, it said. "Central Asia, a global provider and rising market of energy, is considered the second Middle East," the office said in a news release. "Han’s visit to the region is expected to increase the regional awareness of South Korea and help build comprehensive and mutually beneficial cooperative ties with those countries in the fields of energy and social infrastructure construction," it said.

Han is also scheduled to hold meetings with business people as well as ethnic Korean and South Korean residents in the countries during the visit.