Looking to build upon his "New Northern Policy," President Moon Jae-in is now in Turkmenistan to meet with his Turkmen counterpart during the first leg of his three nation, eight-day tour.
Our presidential office correspondent Shin Se-min reports.
President Moon Jae-in’s first of three days in the city of white marble Ashgabad,… will see the South Korean leader push to improve bilateral diplomacy through various meetings as well as the inking of a number of business deals.
After arriving late Tuesday for a state visit to the country,… President Moon will hold a summit Wednesday with President Gurbanguyl Berdymukhammedov. The two will discuss ways to ramp up bilateral energy cooperation as Turkmenistan sits atop the world’s fourth largest natural gas reserves.
As his first visit to Central Asia since taking office in 2017,… the presidential office says President Moon’s trip is a chance to open cooperation in various areas not just in energy but in transportation, logistics and infrastructure as well as the ICT sector and allowing Korean firms to enter the resource-rich nation.
During his stay, the president will tour a three billion U.S. dollar petrochemical plant site in Kiyanly that was built by the global consortium led by Korea’s Hyundai Engineering,… the largest business project ever carried out by a Korean firm.
Geopolitically speaking,… the country is situated in a strategic point, between India and Europe linking the two regions together.
"Multiple layers of construction on the infrastructure front are ongoing, including railways and roads. Combine that with our administration's New Northern Policy and our firms’ chances of expanding overseas grows exponentially."
"The president’s push to expand South Korea’s diplomatic partnerships to nations to the north begins in Turkmenistan,… where he will add another layer to their bilateral ties and lower the bar for South Korean firms to enter the market.
Shin Se-min, Arirang News, Ashgabad."