First Vice-Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan Aizhan Bizhanova met with the Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Ahn Dok-geun.

From the Korean side, the meeting was attended by the Director of the Department of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea, Adviser to the Embassy of the Republic of Korea, Executive Vice President of KIAT and CEO of KOTRA Moscow.

Issues of promoting Kazakh-Korean trade and investment cooperation were discussed at the meeting.

Korea is one of the most priority trade, economic and investment partners of Kazakhstan. According to the results of last year, the mutual trade turnover increased 2.3 times and exceeded $6.1 billion. Over the eight months of 2023, the volume of trade between Kazakhstan and Korea amounted to $4.6 billion, an increase of 10.7% compared to the same period in 2022 (4.2 billion US dollars).

The First Vice Minister of Trade and Integration of the Republic of Kazakhstan noted that South Korea is among the top 10 countries — investors in the economy of our republic.

Kazakhstan has the potential to increase exports to the South Korean market for 90 processed goods totaling over $1 billion. We are talking about the goods of the metallurgical, petrochemical, food, chemical and construction industries.

«In the structure of our trade turnover, exports occupy a large part, and we are interested in diversifying the export basket. In October of this year in g .An agricultural fair was held in Suncheon, where Kazakhstani goods were in great demand. Korean entrepreneurs showed the main interest in confectionery and beverages. In general, in the food industry, we can increase exports from the current 10 million to 115 million dollars», - the First Vice Minister of Trade said.

The Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea, Mr. Ahn Dok-geun, noted the need for further cooperation in various areas of industry, including construction, energy, and digitalization.

The parties agreed on further close cooperation.