S. Korean president to hold summit with Uzbek president

South Korean President Moon Jae-in was set to hold a summit with his Uzbek counterpart, Shavkat Mirziyoyev, Friday on ways to further improve the countries' bilateral ties and expand economic cooperation.

The South Korean leader arrived here Thursday on a four-day state visit. It marks his first trip to the Central Asian country, although his meeting with Mirziyoyev will be his second. The two met in November 2017 when the Uzbek president made a state visit to Seoul.

In their second bilateral summit, the leaders will seek ways to further improve their countries' relationship, Moon's presidential office Cheong Wa Dae said earlier.

The two sides established diplomatic ties in 1992 and upgraded them to a strategic partnership in 2008.

The leaders will discuss ways to expand the countries' cooperation, currently focused on energy and industrial plants, to new areas, including health and medicine, ICT and public administration, Cheong Wa Dae said.

Moon will also seek Uzbekistan's support for the Korea peace process, which seeks to completely denuclearize the peninsula and establish lasting peace.

The South Korean president is on a three-nation tour that began in Turkmenistan and will end in Kazakhstan. The three Central Asian countries are considered South Korea's key partners under Seoul's New Northern Policy, which calls for efforts to boost the country's economic and diplomatic relations with countries in the region, including Russia and China.

Moon will also address the Uzbek parliament before heading to Samarkand on Saturday for a two-day visit to the one of oldest inhabited cities in Central Asia.

He will conclude his visit to Uzbekistan on Sunday and head for Kazakhstan. (Yonhap)