BAKU, Azerbaijan, September 16. Uzbekistan
President Shavkat Mirziyoyev proposed creating a Regional
Investment Alliance for Critical Minerals between Central Asian
countries and South Korea.


This was reflected in the statement by the press service of the
Uzbek president.


Speaking at the first Central Asia-South Korea summit in Seoul,
Mirziyoyev said critical minerals represent a major area where the
strategic interests of Central Asian countries and South Korea
converge.


“This area creates a unique convergence of the strategic
interests of Central Asia and Korea,” Mirziyoyev said, pointing to
rapidly growing global demand for critical raw materials and
Central Asia’s substantial reserves.


He said the region has the potential to become one of the
world’s leading suppliers of critical minerals, while South Korean
technology and capital could play a decisive role in developing the
sector.


“In this regard, we propose establishing a Regional Investment
Alliance for Critical Minerals,” Mirziyoyev said.


The proposed alliance would focus on creating large-scale
processing clusters across Central Asia and developing the entire
critical-minerals value chain.







According to Mirziyoyev, cooperation would cover all stages of
production, from geological exploration and mining to deep
processing and the manufacturing of high-value-added products.


The proposal comes as critical minerals gain importance for
industries linked to advanced manufacturing, energy technologies
and the broader global technology sector. For Central Asian
countries, deeper processing could also create opportunities to
move beyond the export of raw materials toward higher-value
production.


Mirziyoyev emphasized that combining Central Asia’s resource
base with South Korea’s technological capabilities and investment
could provide a foundation for new industrial projects across the
region.


The critical minerals initiative was presented as one of five
strategic areas proposed by Uzbekistan at the inaugural Central
Asia-South Korea summit, alongside trade and industrial
cooperation, climate action, digital security and human capital
development.


The summit brought together the leaders of Uzbekistan,
Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan and Turkmenistan under the
chairmanship of South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.