Yoon departs for three-country Central Asian trip

President Yoon Suk Yeol departed on Monday morning for a six-day trip to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

President Yoon Suk Yeol, right, accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee, waves Monday morning at Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, before heading for state visits to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

President Yoon Suk Yeol departed on Monday morning for a six-day trip to Turkmenistan, Kazakhstan and Uzbekistan.

He was accompanied by first lady Kim Keon Hee on the state visits to the three resource-rich Central Asian countries, seen to be an opportunity to increase cooperation in critical minerals, energy and other sectors.

Yoon was joined by a business delegation of over 60 Korean companies, as the trip will include business events in each city.

The first leg of the trip was Ashgabat, Turkmenistan, where Yoon will pay a two-day visit to hold a bilateral summit with Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow, take part in a memorandum of understanding (MOU) signing ceremony and attend a state dinner.

Yoon will also take part in a business forum attended by companies from both countries the next day.

For the second leg of his trip, Yoon and Kim will fly to Astana for a three-day state visit to Kazakhstan and hold a bilateral summit with Kazakh President Kassym-Jomart Tokayev.

For the last leg of the trip, the presidential couple will head to Tashkent for a three-day state visit Uzbekistan starting Thursday to hold a summit with Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev.

This trip would be an opportunity to introduce the Yoon government's new "K-Silk Road" initiative, Korea's diplomatic strategy toward the Central Asian region.

The president's last overseas trip was some six months ago, when he and the first lady made a state visit to the Netherlands last December.

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]