Trade minister, lobby groups discuss Central Asia trip

Yoon Sang-jick, the trade minister, yesterday held a press briefing with leaders of the nation’s five major business lobby groups in Seoul to announce their new business contracts and discuss their trip accompanying President Park Geun-hye to Central Asia.

Representatives of lobby groups including the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Federation of Korean Industries and the Korea International Trade Association went on the trip.

In the wake of new contracts, the public and private sectors agreed to establish a business committee on energy, production plants and IT markets in Central Asia.

The trip led to progress on business deals worth about $24 billion in Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan and Turkmenistan.

Also during the trip, Korean businesses signed deals for new projects worth $32 billion and 32 Korean companies made preliminary contracts after one-on-one meetings with representatives from about 200 companies in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan.

The projects are in a variety of sectors, from machinery to medical equipment. Hyundai Engineering said it will invest in a factory in Kazakhstan.