Foreign Minister of South Korea Yu Myung-hwan met with Uzbekistan's Vice Prime Minister and Minister of Foreign Economic Relations, Investments and Trade Elyor Ganiev on 10 February for an exchange of views on the state visit to Korea by President Islam Karimov and on Korea-Uzbekistan relations.

Vice Prime Minister Ganiev arrived in Seoul on 3 February as head of the preparatory delegation ahead of the Korean state visit by President Islam Karimov, a press release of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade of the Republic of Korea said.

Minister Yu noted that the Korean trip by President Karimov, following President Lee Myung-bak's state visit to Uzbekistan in May 2009, will contribute considerably to substantializing the Korea-Uzbekistan strategic partnership.

Vice Prime Minister Ganiev expressed gratitude for the preparations the Korean government is making for President Karimov's Korean trip, and showed satisfaction with remarkable development of relations between the two countries in politics, economy, culture and various other sectors based on solid friendship and trust between the leaders of both countries.

Minister Yu Myung-hwan extended appreciation to the Uzbek government for having already expressed support to Korea on its bid to host the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang and the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18) under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2012 as well as for its early decision to participate in the World Expo 2012 in Yeosu.

The two sides noted with satisfaction smooth progress of mutually-beneficial cooperative projects, including the Surgil gas-field development, new mine explorations, and the establishment of a special economic-industrial zone in Navoy, under close inter-governmental cooperation. They then agreed to work closely together so that the agreements reached at the Korea-Uzbekistan Summit will make headway without a hitch.

After the meeting, the two sides signed four arrangements on grant-aid projects: improvement of medical care for patients with infectious diseases; improvement of the heat supply system; improvement of drinking water supply; and development of techniques for salt reduction of collector-drainage water for reuse.

With the signing of the said arrangements, grant aid programs for Uzbekistan will be conducted to contribute to both Uzbekistan's economic and social development and Korea-Uzbekistan relations.

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