Uzbekistan: Karimov Reaps Deals and Praise from South Korea

South Korea is Uzbekistan's new best friend. Not only has Seoul emerged as an important commercial partner for Tashkent, South Korean leaders are heaping praise on Uzbek President Islam Karimov's management style.

Karimov visited South Korea from February 10-12. In addition to a meeting with South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak, the Uzbek leader held talks with a variety of leading business executives. Karimov's visit was preceded by Uzbek foreign Minister Elyor Ganiev, who met his South Korean counterpart, Yu Myung Hwan. According to Korean media outlets, Ganiev and Yu signed four economic assistance agreements and a memorandum of understanding on defense cooperation.

Perhaps most important from Karimov's vantage point, he obtained some much desired political support while in Seoul. Seeming to ignore concerns expressed by leading international financial institutions about the fragile state of the Uzbek economy, President Lee offered a resounding endorsement for the Karimov administration's policies. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

"At a time when most countries suffered from the global crisis, Uzbekistan showed economic growth," news outlets quoted Lee as saying. "This, of course, was reached through a wise policy of the head of the country. In terms of anti-crisis measures, Uzbekistan, I believe, may be an example to many countries."

On a purely financial level, Karimov's visit proved lucrative. On February 11, the Uzbek and South Korean presidents signed an approximately $3.3-billion investment deal that will see a Korean consortium led by KOGAS build a petrochemical plant in northern Uzbekistan.

In addition, the Korean National Oil Company (KNOC) inked a deal to explore oil fields, working with the Uzbek entity Uzbekneftegaz. Separately KNOC operates in Uzbekistan as part of a consortium surveying for hydrocarbon deposits near the Aral Sea.

Karimov also met with the head of Korean Air, Cho Yang-Ho, to discuss developments at the Navoi Free Industrial Zone. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive].

Korean Air is currently upgrading Navoi airport, a major hub on the US-backed Northern Distribution Network, a supply line for US troops serving in Afghanistan. [For background see the Eurasia Insight archive]. The airport will eventually process up to 30,000 tons of cargo annually, Cho said. Non-lethal goods are flown to Navoi by Korean Air and then transported to Afghanistan via the Termez border crossing.