(2nd LD) S. Korea, Turkmenistan agree to enhance cooperation in energy, infrastructure projects

(ATTN: UPDATES with more details in paras 13-16; ADDS photo)
By Kim Eun-jung

ASHGABAT, June 10 (Yonhap) -- The leaders of South Korea and Turkmenistan agreed Monday to expand cooperation in large-scale energy and infrastructure projects, and work together for Seoul's strategy for Central Asia.

President Yoon Suk Yeol held a summit with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow in the capital city of Ashgabat and adopted a joint statement outlining their cooperation for Seoul's "K-Silk Road Cooperation" initiative.

The initiative is the Yoon administration's regional strategy centered on linking South Korea's innovative capabilities with Central Asia's resources and development potential.

During the talks, the two leaders agreed to deepen the "mutually beneficial" partnership in various areas, and exchanged opinions about the security situation on the Korean Peninsula and regional issues, Yoon's office said.

Yoon and Berdimuhamedow also discussed ways to collaborate in the energy and infrastructure projects, and expand cooperation in new areas of mutual concerns, including infrastructure, shipbuilding, public health and climate change.

"We agreed to further strengthen cooperation in the energy and plant sector that has driven the collaboration between the two countries," Yoon said in a joint press conference.

Berdimuhamedow supported the "K-Silk Road" initiative and committed Ashgabat to close cooperation with Seoul to help implement the vision in the region.

"Turkmenistan and South Korea see significant potential for extensive collaboration in creating a transcontinental transportation route connecting Asia to Europe. We have confirmed mutual interest in expanding cooperation in the energy sector," Berdimuhamedow said through a translator.

South Korea, the world's fourth-largest buyer of crude and gas, aims to deepen collaboration for energy projects and resource development with Turkmenistan, the world's fourth-largest natural gas reserve holder.

On the sidelines of the summit, the two sides signed the Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF) to pave the way for a comprehensive economic cooperation between the two nations, making it the third Central Asian country to clinch such a deal following Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan last year.

Hyundai Engineering Co. signed a framework agreement with Turkmenistan's state-run Turkmengas for the fourth desulfurization facility at the Galkynysh gas field. It marks the Korean company's second deal following an agreement in 2009.

Hyundai Engineering also inked a cooperation agreement with Turkmenistan's state-run chemical corporation to resume operation of the Kiyanly Polymer Plant to manage the project's first phase focused on a technical audit. The company secured a deal in 2013, but the plant ceased operations in 2023.

The talks also created a favorable environment for Korean companies' participation in urea and ammonia fertilizer production plants in Kiyanly, Balkan Province in western Turkmenistan, with Daewoo Engineering & Construction Co. bidding for the project to build two fertilizer plants, the presidential office said.

The combined contracts expected to be secured by the two Korean companies are estimated to worth approximately $6 billion, senior presidential secretary for economic affairs Park Chun-sup said in a briefing.

During the state visit, eight cooperation documents were signed in the presence of the two leaders, including the TIPF and agreements for gas field and chemical plant facility cooperation.

Additionally, several memorandums of understandings (MOUs) were signed between the two nations' governments, financial institutions, hospitals and in the fields of infrastructure and urban development cooperation.

South Korea is seeking to diversify import sources of urea, a type of nitrogen used to curb emissions in diesel cars and to make agricultural fertilizers, amid growing concerns over its stable supply due to China's tight export controls.

To help Korean companies bid on large-scale construction and plant projects in Turkmenistan, the two countries signed a memorandum of agreement on a financial cooperation framework and agreed to expedite talks on the Investment Protection Agreement and the Customs Mutual Assistance Agreement.

During the meeting, Berdimuhamedow supported South Korea's launching a summit involving the leaders of South Korea and all five Central Asian countries, including Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan and Tajikistan, next year.

Yoon arrived in Turkmenistan on the first leg of his three-nation tour to Central Asia, which will also take him to Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

His state visit marks the third trip by a South Korean president to Turkmenistan, following visits in 2014 and 2019. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1992 and forged a mutual partnership in 2008.

Following the summit, Yoon and first lady Kim Keon-hee laid flowers at the Independence Monument and attended a tree-planting ceremony.

ejkim@yna.co.kr
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