On November 1, 2023, the 16^th Cooperation Forum “Central Asia-Republic of Korea” at the level of Ministers of Foreign Affairs was held in Ashgabat. From the Kyrgyz side, the delegation was headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs Zheenbek Kulubaev.

During the Forum, issues of cooperation between Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea in the field of transport and logistics, healthcare, education, digitalization, ecology and tourism were discussed. Kyrgyzstan noted interest in implementing specific projects in the above sectors with all Forum participants.

Relevant state authorities of Kyrgyzstan took part in panel sessions of the Forum in a hybrid format, during which they exchanged views with Central Asian and Korean colleagues on issues of multilateral cooperation.

In the statement the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic Jeenbek Kulubaev noted that since the creation of the Forum, this platform has proven to be an effective multilateral consultative mechanism that contributes to the further strengthening and expansion of ties between the Central Asian states and the Republic of Korea.

Following the results of the 16^th Forum, the heads of delegations adopted a Joint Statement, and also approved the Work Plan of the Secretariat of the Central Asia-Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum for 2024.

Also within the framework of the Forum, a meeting was held between the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Kyrgyz Republic, Zheenbek Kulubaev, and the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Park Jin. The parties discussed the current state of bilateral relations, upcoming mutual visits at high and the highest levels, and also outlined areas of activity for future cooperation.