South Korea and Kazakhstan signed more than 30 agreements on the sidelines of a summit between President Yoon Suk Yeol and Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev, pledging to cooperate in the fields of critical minerals, energy and climate change responses, the presidential office said Wednesday.
After the summit in the Kazakh capital of Astana, Yoon and Tokayev attended a signing ceremony for 11 memorandums of understanding (MOUs). An additional 24 MOUs and documents were signed during a business forum involving companies and governments from both countries.
One key agreement is an MOU on a critical mineral supply chain partnership, which will pave the way for comprehensive cooperation ranging from joint exploration to the final use of critical minerals in Kazakhstan.
The agreement is expected to provide opportunities for Korean companies to participate in the development and production of mineral resources in Kazakhstan, which is a major oil producer and holds large reserves of uranium, chromium, titani
um and rare earth metals.
The Kazakh Ministry of Industry and Infrastructure Development secured an agreement for joint lithium mine exploration and development with the Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources and SK Ecoplant Co., the energy arm of SK Group.
Additionally, the Korea Institute for Advancement of Technology and the Kazakh National Center of Science and Technology Evaluation struck a deal on technology cooperation for the commercialization of rare metals, such as lithium, tungsten and titanium.
Kazakhstan is the world’s largest uranium supplier and holds the world’s second-largest share of chromium, which is used to harden steel and manufacture stainless steel.
The two nations also agreed to cooperate in the energy sector by signing a deal on low-emission power generation, renewable energy and the modernization of old power plants.
An MOU between the two countries’ environment ministries calls for collaboration on Kazakhstan’s landfill gas power generation project in Karasai in t
he southeastern region. It is a low-carbon energy project aimed at capturing landfill methane to convert it to electricity.
“The president’s state visit helped strengthen economic cooperation with Kazakhstan in various areas, including energy, infrastructure and critical minerals, and created a favorable business environment for Korean companies’ business bids in Kazakhstan,” the presidential office said.
Source: Yonhap News Agency
