Korea, Uzbekistan reach agreement to settle outstanding payments in joint gas project

The South Korean Ministry of Finance announced on Friday that it has reached an agreement with Uzbekistan to settle the outstanding payment of about one billion US dollars related to a joint gas project.

The agreement was reached during the visit of Finance Minister Cho Kyung-Ho to the Central Asian country, where he held a bilateral meeting with his Uzbek counterpart, according to the Ministry of economy and finance.

South Korea and Uzbekistan launched a gas project in 2008 through a joint venture called Oz-core gas and chemicals, which began production in 2016.

The latest settlement centered on unpaid dues to a subsidiary of the state gas company of Uzbekistan, which bought gas from the joint venture but faced payment delays due to foreign exchange problems.

The finance ministry did not provide further details about the agreement.

During the bilateral meeting, Zhou expressed hope to strengthen bilateral economic ties to address the growing uncertainties.

The minister of Finance noted that by taking advantage of advanced Korean technology and Uzbekistan’s abundant natural resources, the two countries can strengthen their competitiveness within the global value chain, especially in developed sectors.

“South Korea and Uzbekistan consider export revitalization a key economic goal,” Cho said, noting that Korea is making efforts to diversify its trade portfolio.

The total trade volume between the two countries reached 2.21 billion dollars in 2022, up from only 3 million dollars in 1992.