Russia and central Asia export push planned

The government has set a goal of exporting 1 trillion won ($886 million) of environmental infrastructure, including water and sewage systems, to Russia, Mongolia and other countries in central Asia by 2022.

The decision was announced during a meeting of the Presidential Committee on Northern Economic Cooperation on Wednesday.

The committee’s plan includes cooperation with Russia on waste management systems, air-quality projects in Mongolia and the establishment of an environmental network through an environmental policy forum to guide cooperation with these countries.

In the case of Russia, only 7 percent of garbage is recycled. Korea can contribute as it has adopted waste management systems and recycling practices since 1995.

The government plans to work with Mongolia in improving air quality, which has deteriorated due to low-quality fuel used for heating and cooking in traditional tents in and around Ulaanbaatar. The committee plans to provide air-quality monitoring and management systems.

In Uzbekistan, the Korean government will be providing aid to improve the country’s water and sewage systems with the use of ICT.

The committee said in a statement that these countries are in need of technology and infrastructure to address environmental problems, which have been on the rise with industrialization and urbanization.

Through cooperation in the environmental sector, the quality of life in the target economies will increase while opportunities will be created for Korean companies.

“The vision of the New Northern Policy is to create a north Asian region - including the [Korean] Peninsula - of peace and prosperity,” said Kwon Goo-hoon, chairman of the committee. “Due to changes in the relationship between North and South Korea, past northern policies have been canceled and we have been losing momentum in this region.

“As such, we are focusing mostly on important businesses that are relatively less affected by the changing relationship between the two Koreas but have a strong connection to the peninsula’s new economic map or create new growth engines.”

The government also aims to export $100 million worth of agricultural equipment to these markets while securing one million tons of food from them. Farming-related exports will include the latest technologies, such as smart-farm equipment

BY LEE HO-JEONG [lee.hojeong@joongang.co.kr]