South Korea making Moves to Strengthen Rare Earth Element Supply Chain in Central Asia

Highlights

• The 17th Central Asia-Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum was held in Seoul.
• Key partnership areas discussed included:
  • Transport
  • Energy
  • Critical minerals
• Kazakhstan invited Korean companies to:
  • Expand the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route
  • Explore rare earth element projects
  • Explore energy projects
• South Korea is pursuing the K-Silk Road initiative to strengthen economic ties and access critical resources in the Central Asian region.

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The 17th Central Asia–Republic of Korea Cooperation Forum (opens in a new tab), which took place in Seoul on November 4, addressed key areas of partnership between Central Asian countries and South Korea in sectors as diverse as transport and logistics, energy, critical minerals, digital transformation, environmental issues, and tourism. Rare earth elements (REEs) were a topic of significant importance.

Murat Nurtleu, (opens in a new tab) Kazakhstan’s Minister of Foreign Affairs, spoke at the event stressing the need for transport connectivity for the region’s sustainable economic growth.

While not widely reported in the West, Kazakhstan, officially the Republic of Kazakhstan, is a landlocked country primarily in Central Asia, with a small portion of its territory in Eastern Europe, now is developing the Trans-Caspian International Transport Route seeking both safe and efficient cargo transportation from Asia to Europe. The Kazakh minister invited Korean companies to participate in major projects to expand the route’s capacity to 10 million tons of cargo annually reports Sergey Kwan writing for the Times of Central Asia (opens in a new tab).

Nurtleu, in addressing energy collaboration, stressed Kazakhstan’s abundant natural resources, including rare earth metals and uranium.  Will Korean companies invest in projects involving with the extraction and processing of valuable energy assets including REEs?  Will they participate in a consortium to build a nuclear power facility in the country?

According to the Kazakhstan Minister  “Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea are natural partners connected by a shared history, Altai heritage, and traditional trade relations dating back to the Silk Road era. The Republic of Korea is increasingly vital in the economic and technological development of the entire Central Asian region.”

Kyrgyzstan’s First Deputy Minister of Foreign Affairs, Asein Isaev, highlighted at the Korean forum the growing role of South Korea as a high-tech nation, and thus consumer of REEs,  seeing ways to strengthen supply chains for energy resources and REEs,  while developing transport and logistics routes with Kyrgyzstan and other Central Asian countries.

During this event South Korea’s President Yoon Suk Yeol (opens in a new tab) met with key Central Asian delegation heads,  emphasizing Korea’s interest in strengthening relations with Central Asian countries via the K-Silk Road initiative. Korea appears to be making moves to enhance and extend its  supply chains, investing in Korean infrastructure development in Central Asia in exchange for better access to the region’s raw materials and critical minerals.

Reporter Serey Kwan wrote that when the head of Korea visited Kazakhstan this summer, he stressed the importance of strengthening the strategic partnership between Kazakhstan and South Korea, especially for purposes of the supply critical minerals including REEs.