By Lee Jon Young

 

The economic forum “Wind of Kazakhstan” was held in the Korean province of Jeollabuk-do with the participation of representatives of the Akimat of the Almaty region, business and academic circles of the two countries on Dec. 5. The event was hosted by the Jeollabuk-do Provincial Administration and the Province's International Cooperation Agency.

 

 

While delivering welcoming remarks, Ambassador of Kazakhstan Nurgali Arystanov said that Kazakhstan was interested in developing cooperation with the Jeollabuk-do province in areas such as agriculture, smart farms, digital trade, construction and technology transfer. Korean businessmen were presented with investment and tourism opportunities of Kazakhstan. It was emphasized that the Jeollabuk-do province had established productive cooperation with the Kyzylorda and Almaty regions, with which economic, cultural and humanitarian ties are expanding.

Governor of the Province Kim Kwan-young also expressed his readiness to deepen cooperation in the areas of mutual interest, noting the recent visit of a delegation from the province of Jeollabuk-do as part of the Korean Culture Days in Kazakhstan.

 

 

The event program includes visits to economic facilities as well as bilateral meetings of businessmen in the “B2B” format, during which potential joint projects were discussed.

It should be noted that trade and economic interaction between the two countries shows positive dynamics. In January-October 2023, the bilateral trade turnover amounted to $5.3 billion, as a result of which Korea continues to remain the 4th largest trading partner of Kazakhstan. During January-June 2023, $717 million of Korean direct investment was attracted, exhibiting a 30% increase compared to the same period in 2022. Thus, South Korea remains the 6th largest investor of the Republic of Kazakhstan.

 

The following is the welcome remarks by Ambassador of Kazakhstan Nurgali Arystanov at the economic forum “Wind of Kazakhstan.”

 

Dear Governor Mr. Kim Kwan-young,
Dear Secretary-General of GAROK, 
Your Excellency Kim Dae Sik,
Your Excellency Ha Taeyouk, 
Distinguished guests and friends, 
 
I am delighted to be here today among friends. For us, Jeollabuk-do is one of the closest and favorite provinces. In the past few years, relationship between Kazakhstan and your beautiful province has been on the rise. 

For instance, the Governor of Kyzylorda region Nalibayev (May) and Governor of Almaty region Sultangaziev (May) have visited your province and met with Governor Kim, who extended to them warmest hospitality. This provided a solid foundation for our further interaction in many areas. 

We know that Jeollabuk-do is famous for agriculture, food industry and smart farms. These are exactly the same areas where we would like to cooperate with you. 

We are mesmerized by the beautiful culture and heritage of rich Korean traditions here. Even walking on the street of Jeonju city, we can see Jeonju Hanok Village, which I enjoyed very much recently in July. Especially, the local food here is so delicious.
 
I am so grateful to the Kazakh businessmen, public figures and public servicemen who joined us today overcoming a long journey. Our famous producer Nurlan Koyanbayev, successful chief executive officer of Shinline Andrey Shin and deputy chief executive of BAZIS A Azamat Bulatov, Manager of Airba Fresh Ali Rakhimov and many others are here with us today. They will have b2b meetings, which will enrich the bilateral agenda of the event which is aptly called the Wind of Kazakhstan. I am sure as a result of today’s discussions, everyone here will be touched by the window coming from Kazakhstan and get encouraged to do a bit more business with us to accelerate the wind of positive change and wind of incremental improvements. 

 

In a broader context, let me give you a little bit of background information. This year, Kazakhstan-Korea enhanced strategic partnership has been especially successful. Our Presidents (Tokayev and Yoon Suk Yeol) met at UN General Assembly. Foreign Minister Park Jin visited Kazakhstan in June and met Foreign Minister Nurtleu. The two foreign ministers met again in November in Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, during the C5+K ministerial meeting. Speaker of Parliament Koshanov visited Seoul in September to attend the inaugural meeting of C5+K Parliamentary Conference. Our Minister of Interior Sadenov (October) and Minister of Education Bisembayev (September) visited Korea separately. Recently we launched C5+K Local authorities dimension. 

These visits and meetings show that political dialogue between our two countries has become regular and provides a favorable framework for encompassing relationship.

 

As for the commercial ties, I am glad to say that two-way trade has shown positive growth in January – October this year and reached $5.3 billion. As a result, Korea has retained its position as the 4th largest trade partner of Kazakhstan. 

 

As for the investments, the Korean FDI attracted to Kazakhstan in January – June has reached $717 million and has grown by 30%. So, Korea has emerged as the 6th largest investor in Kazakhstan in terms of FDI attracted during this year.  

 

People-to-people ties are also flourishing. We are glad that your province’s cultural group visited Almaty recently (June) and mesmerized the public with the fantastic performance during the Cultural Days of Jeollabuk-do. Our cultural teams also love to visit Korea and participate in various festivals. 

 

Tourism is also on the rise. Almaty region is especially a favorite for Korean tourists, because it offers majestic mountains capped with ice and snow, delicious food, colorful culture and vibrant entertainment. So, it goes without saying that we would like to invite all of you to visit Kazakhstan starting with Almaty.   

 

So, Governor Kim, it gives me great pleasure to extend to you a personal invitation to lead a delegation to Almaty region, which has a sister city relationship with the province of Jeollabuk-do. 

 

Before I conclude, ladies and gentlemen, I would like to leave you with three takeaways. 

Number one. Kazakhstan is open to business as a reliable strategic partner. 

Number two. We at the Embassy would be happy to support any initiatives and proposals aimed at bringing our peoples even closer, with the focus on the business engagement. 

 

And finally, I am so glad that Ambassador Kim is spearheading relationships between Jeollabuk-do and Kazakhstan, as he is always remembered and cherished as one of the most successful Korean Ambassadors and dear friends of Kazakhstan. With his support, I am sure that Kazakhstan’s relationship with Jeollabuk-do will be elevated to the next level.  
Thank you