A doubly landlocked country in the heart of Central Asia, Uzbekistan has engaged the world steadily since gaining independence from the Soviet Union on Aug. 31, 1991.

Its economy, once centrally planned, has been integrated into the global marketplace facilitated by structural transformation and foreign investment.

The country sits on vast reserves of gold, uranium and natural gas deposit, and the government has modernized since 2006 the bulk of its basic industries using a $25 billion national fund.

At the 24th independence anniversary reception at Lotte Hotel in Seoul on Monday, Uzbekistan’s continuing development and deepening ties with Korea were celebrated with over 500 dignitaries, diplomats, businesspersons and students participating. 

“Since independence, our economy has grown more than 5.5-fold and per capita income ninefold through market reforms,” Uzbek Ambassador Botirjon Asadov said in a speech. “The ‘Uzbek model’ of development prioritized economic growth, state-led reform, the rule of law, social welfare and piecemeal transition to the market economy.”

According to the embassy, the industrial share of GDP is 25 percent and 60 percent of export products come from high-tech industries. $190 billion accumulated investment, of which $60 billion are foreign, has spurred the development of engineering, electronics, pharmaceutical, automotive, oil and gas, chemical, railway, food and textile sectors.

Free economic zones were established in Navoi, Angren and Djizak regions, and the welfare of elderly and education of young have been given priority, the ambassador added.

Korea’s Minister of Government Administration and Home Affairs Chong Jong-sup said in a speech, “The land of Uzbekistan was the cradle of the Timurid Empire (1370-1507) and the hub of Silk Road that bridged the East and West.”

He added, “Uzbekistan is rising again as a bustling hub of Central Asia with the New Silk Road, with a focus on ICT and logistics industries. Since establishing diplomatic ties in 1992, our two nations have built very close relations in diplomacy, security, energy, infrastructure and transport.”

Over the last 23 years, 14 summit meetings were held, the most recent of which were President Park Geun-hye’s visit to Tashkent in June last year and Uzbek President Islam Karimov’s visit to Seoul in May. The Seoul summit, where both presidents discussed a wide range of regional and commercial issues, produced 60 documents and contracts worth over $7.7 billion.

Over the years, bilateral economic cooperation has created 400 joint ventures in Uzbekistan with the annual trade turnover topping $2 billion. Collaboration in the information communication technology sector has seen an upsurge, driven by the Uzbek government benchmarking Korea’s e-government system.

Uzbek ICT professionals and government officials have received training in Korea, and Korea’s Ministry of Government Administration and Home Affairs established an E-Government Cooperation Center in Tashkent in February 2013.

A branch of Korea’s Inha University specializing in information technology engineering and computer science engineering was launched in Tashkent in October last year.

The Seoul Park has opened in the capital along with the House of Korean Culture and Arts, helping promotion of Korean heritage in Uzbekistan, where over 190,000 ethnic Koreans have resided since the 1930s. Currently, some 10,000 Uzbek nationals work across Korea’s industrial sites.

Uzbekistan has large reserves of gold, uranium, copper, silver, zinc, tungsten, rare metals, coal, natural gas and fossil minerals, which safeguard the country’s energy security. It also has 20 international transport corridors, including two intercontinental.

Small and medium-sized enterprise activities have steadily grown since the early 1990s, taking up over half of GDP today. High value-added services ― ICT, computers, law, consulting, real estate, brokerage, medicine, insurance and banking ― constitute 20 percent of GDP.

The World Economic Forum ranked Uzbekistan the fifth most rapidly growing economy in the world, and Standard & Poor’s, Moody’s and Fitch Ratings have rated the country’s commercial banks “stable.”

Uzbekistan has over 490 tourism accommodation facilities, including luxury hotels and camping sites, wedged in its high mountains and ancient Silk Road cities. 100 hiking trails interlaced with historical monuments and buildings are open to the public. National company Uzbektourism promotes sightseeing attractions to media representatives and travel agencies around the world each year.

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)