South Korea and Five Central Asian Countries Establish Critical-Mineral Supply Chain Framework

Published: Sep 17, 2026 08:36

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South Korea’s Ministry of Trade and Industry announced on September 17 that 9 government-level industrial and supply-chain cooperation documents had been signed with five Central Asian countries during meetings held from September 14 to 16.

It was the first time in 34 years of diplomatic relations that South Korea and all five countries jointly discussed industrial cooperation and critical-mineral supply chains, including lithium and rare earths. The documents comprise one multilateral industrial and supply-chain cooperation MOU and eight bilateral agreements.

South Korea and Uzbekistan agreed to establish a full-cycle cooperation platform covering critical-mineral exploration and processing. The private sector signed 116 MOUs: 78 involving Kazakhstan, 5 Uzbekistan, 14 Turkmenistan and 19 at the Korea–Central Asia Business Summit.

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