Kazakh PM visits South Korea

Prime Minister of Kazakhstan Serik Akhmetov signed a number of customs cooperation agreements with South Korea during his visit to Seoul on December 10, Tengrinews reports. The PM met with President Park Geun-hye at Cheong Wa Dae (“Blue House”) presidential office in Seoul to discus cooperation in economy, investment, industry and innovative technologies between Kazakhstan and South Korea. Serik Akhmetov was the first Kazakhstan PM to visit South Korea. Previously, President Park proposed linking together the energy and logistics infrastructure across the Eurasian continent in the Eurasia Initiative project. At the meeting with Serik Akhmtov, the President noted the importance of Kazakhstan's participation for this project. "Kazakhstan is one of Korea's key partners in the Eurasian space," Park Geun-hye said. According to Serik Akhmetov Kazakhstan has several large-scale projects with Korea, including the project of construction of Balkhash Thermal Power Plant in central Kazakhstan, construction of a chemical plant near Atyrau city in western Kazakhstan and development of Zhambyl oil and gas field in western Kazakhstan. South Korean Samsung Engineering won the $2.1 billion contract to build the thermal power plant at Balkhash lake back in summer 2012. Kazakhstan has been developing Zhambyl oil field together with a Korean consortium of Korean National Oil Corporation, SK Innovation, HyundaiHysco, LGI, AjuCorp. Daesung Corp., Daewoo Shipbuilding & Marine Engineering (DSME), Samsung C&T since May this year. And concerning the integrated gas treatment and chemicals production complex in Atyrau, Korean LG Chemical will be involved in the second phase of the project: it will render technical support related to hook-up and commissioning, including personnel training at already operating facilities. The second stage is to be implemented before 2016. While the first stage is being implemented together with Chinese Sinopec Engineering already. "I am confident that these major projects will contribute to the development of Kazakhstan's economy and enhance investment and technological cooperation between our countries," the Prime Minister said at the meeting with the Korean President. According to Korea's Arirang network the three Kazakhstan-Korean major joint projects " in energy, resources and infrastructure are totally worth $10 billion”. Before meeting the President, Kazakhstan PM visited 'Samsung d'light' exhibition in Seoul to see the company's latest achievements in mobile communication, telecommunication technologies and computer engineering. And after the meeting he met with Hyun Oh-seok, Korean Vice Prime-Minister - Minister of Strategy and Finance, to discuss cooperation in transport engineering, renewable energy, high technologies and textile industry.