Ilzat Ablaxatovich Kasimov, Uzbekistan’s deputy minister of investment, industry and trade, voiced expectations for expanded economic cooperation between Korea and Uzbekistan on Wednesday during a speech at the 2026 Global Biz Forum hosted by The Korea Herald and Herald Business in Seoul.
“As ties between the two countries continue to deepen, interest in partnering with Korean companies is growing steadily across Uzbekistan’s government and business sectors. Uzbekistan’s rapid growth is opening up significant business opportunities for Korean firms,” Kasimov said.
His congratulatory remarks opened the first session of the annual forum titled “DECISION: Reshaping the Future Landscape,” held at the Ambassador Seoul Pullman Hotel. Now in its ninth edition, the forum, held twice a year in weekly sessions totaling more than 14, explores emerging global trends and challenges shaping the future economy.
While in Korea, Kasimov met Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan on Tuesday before departing for Australia later Wednesday.
Deputy Minister of Transport Jasurbek Choriev also joined the forum, highlighting Uzbekistan’s competitiveness as an economic partner while presenting key sectors for deeper bilateral cooperation.
“Investment by Korean companies in Uzbekistan has been steadily increasing, with the number of joint ventures reaching 683, including major firms such as Samsung Electronics, LG and Lotte Chemical,” he said.
“In recent years, Uzbekistan has developed 24 free economic zones and more than 30 technology parks, backed by government support offering modern infrastructure, tax incentives and administrative assistance for investors."
Choriev stressed that Uzbekistan, with a population of 38 million, serves as a gateway to Central Asia and has strong growth potential, with its gross domestic product having doubled over the past eight years.
The nation’s strong domestic demand for automobiles, along with abundant agricultural resources and mineral wealth, creates favorable conditions for economic cooperation with Korea in manufacturing, food processing and related industries, he added.
Ahead of the forum, the two deputy ministers held a meeting with Jung Won-ju, vice chair of Jungheung Group and chairman of Daewoo Engineering & Construction, and Herald Media Group CEO Choi Jin-young, exchanging views on potential areas of cooperation.
Wednesday's event also featured former SMEs and Startups Minister Park Young-sun, who shared insights on how the South Korean government should navigate the AI agent era.
With minimal human intervention, AI agents are capable of autonomously performing tasks, making decisions and interacting with users or other systems based on data.
Park stressed the need to establish national standards in “ontology,” a core framework for AI agents that structures concepts, properties and relationships across diverse datasets, enabling more accurate analysis.
“The push for dominance in the AI agent economy is already underway in the US, with major tech companies coming together to establish standards. How actively South Korea takes part in this process will be directly tied to the country’s AI future," the former minister said.
In February, the National Institute of Standards and Technology under the US Department of Commerce launched a program to standardize data formats and authentication methods for AI agents, aimed at enabling safe and seamless interactions across systems.
Park described the standardization of ontologies across domestic industries as a crucial step toward securing data sovereignty in the rapidly evolving AI era.
“Standardized ontologies across sectors beyond manufacturing, such as public administration, would allow diverse data to be structured and connected within a unified framework,” she said.
“The growing divide in data capabilities between countries could lead to an era of data colonialism. The United States and China are already expanding their influence by building data centers worldwide. We must also scale up our data infrastructure and computing power to secure data sovereignty.”
cjh@heraldcorp.com
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