Central Asia’s Trade Strategies and Korea-Central Asia Cooperation Plans

The purpose of this research is to derive the future directions of the cooperation between Korea and Central Asia under the global uncertainty that is deepening with the competition and confrontation of major powers that cannot be easily resolved, and as the strategic value of economic security increases. In the situation where the sanctions against the Russian economy are expected to be prolonged, the geographical value of Central Asia, which connects Russia and Europe, becomes more prominent. In addition, given the rich natural resources and relatively young population structure of Central Asia, expanding cooperation with Central Asia has even more significant implications. In this study, we classified the five Central Asian countries into three middle-income countries (Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Turkmenistan) and two low-income countries (Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan) based on the similarities and differences revealed in the structural characteristics of each country's economy and the level of development. According to this classification, we analyzed the direction of cooperation in the digital, climate change, and health and medical sectors, which are currently in high demand for cooperation.