The country’s business circles were overwhelmed with business meetings as the Nuclear Security Summit entered its final day on Tuesday.

With a goal of reaffirming partnerships and searching for new business opportunities, a large number of firms, such as Hyundai Motor, LG Chem, LS Industrial Systems, POSCO, Samsung C&T and SK C&C, participated in private meetings with the foreign delegations throughout the day.

In particular, a total of 10 agreements were signed during a business forum arranged between Korean companies and Kazakh Industry and New Technologies Minister Asset Issekeshev in downtown Seoul, according to the Federation of Korea Industries.

The Ministry of Knowledge Economy and the Korea Electric Power Corp. signed an agreement with their Kazakh counterparts involving power line network efficiency in Kazakhstan. LG Chem and its Kazakh partners, including the United Chemical Company, agreed on supporting the construction of a research and development and the petrochemical complex in Atyrau.

Samsung C&T, the construction arm of the Samsung Group, also signed a contract with Kazakh’s Samruk Energo to build a thermal power plant in Balkhash, while the country’s top carmaker Hyundai Motor agreed to cooperate on assembling and selling semi-finished small-sized buses to its Kazakh partner Hyundai Auto Truck and Bus.

SK C&C signed a memorandum of understanding to work together on constructing a logistics center in Kazakhstan.

Trade between Korea and Kazakhstan currently stands at about $1.1 billion, a 100-fold increase since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1992.

In a related bid, Koo Ja-kyun, chief executive and vice chairman of LS Industrial Systems, also reaffirmed its partnership with Iraq involving the installation of electrical substations in the Middle Eastern country’s capital.

LSIS plans to establish 70 medium-voltage substations in Baghdad and also supply four more air-insulated switchgear substations, including transformers for Iraq. The project is worth around $207 million, according to its officials.

“We will take responsibility and play an essential role in the building of Iraq’s electric infrastructure along with turning this project into a success,” said Koo in a meeting with Iraqi vice minister Amer Abdul Majeed of the Ministry of Electricity.

POSCO chairman Chung Joon-yang also engaged in meetings with Indonesian government officials and the Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard on Tuesday as well as Indonesian President Susilo Bambang Yudhoyono and Pakistani government officials on Wednesday.

POSCO broke ground for its first overseas integrated steelworks in Indonesia in 2010, located in Cilegon, 100 kilometers west of Jakarta and the steelmaker’s affiliate Daewoo International is taking part in the coal mine businesses in Australia.

On another front, European Council President Herman Van Rompuy will participate in a luncheon with about 100 Korean business leaders, including Tongyang Group chairman Hyun Jae-hyun, in southern Seoul on Wednesday.

The EU official plans to explain the details of plans to tackle the union’s financial crisis to companies here.

By Cho Ji-hyun (sharon@heraldcorp.com)