Kazakhstan’s president set to attend Korea–Central Asia summit in Seoul

Kazakhstan’s President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev is set to attend the upcoming “Republic of Korea – Central Asia” summit in Seoul following an official invitation from South Korean leadership.

Tokayev received Kang Hoon-sik, special representative of the president and chief of staff to Lee Jae-myung, at the Akorda presidential residence, according to the presidential press service.

The meeting covered a wide range of bilateral issues, including prospects for expanding cooperation in the energy and transport-logistics sectors amid ongoing global market challenges.

A day earlier, Reuters reported that Kang would travel to Kazakhstan, Oman, and Saudi Arabia to help secure supplies of crude oil and naphtha amid disruptions to shipping through the Strait of Hormuz.

According to a representative of Lee’s administration, Kang is acting as a special presidential envoy tasked with holding talks with governments, energy companies, and shipping operators to ensure cargo deliveries to South Korean ports and maintain stable supplies of essential goods, including medical products.

South Korea relies on the Strait of Hormuz route for around 61% of its crude oil imports and 54% of its naphtha imports. The country sources about 70% of its crude oil from the Middle East, leaving it highly vulnerable to supply disruptions and price volatility. Since the onset of the conflict with Iran, average refinery utilisation in South Korea has declined by 10%, while domestic naphtha supplies have dropped by approximately 10–20%.

The planned Korea–Central Asia summit, scheduled for September 16-17, 2026, is the first-ever high-level gathering between South Korea and the five Central Asian states (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan, Kyrgyzstan, and Tajikistan), designed to institutionalise cooperation at the leaders’ level.

The summit is expected to serve as a platform for deeper collaboration in areas like supply chain diversification, critical minerals, transport connectivity, and technological cooperation, reflecting Central Asia’s growing geoeconomic importance.

Originally planned for 2025, the meeting was postponed to 2026 due to political developments in South Korea, but it remains a key milestone in building a structured multilateral partnership between the two regions.

By Jeyhun Aghazada