As part of the visit of the President of South Korea to Kazakhstan, a Kazakh-Korean Business Forum was held in Astana today with participation of Heads of State Kassym-Jomart Tokayev and Yoon Suk Yeol. About 500 representatives of the business communities of the two countries took part in the Forum.
To stimulate industrial and economic development, ensure the resource security of Kazakhstan and Korea, the Ministry of Industry and Construction of the Republic of Kazakhstan, the National Mining Company Tau-Ken Samruk, the KIGAM Geological Institute and the Korean company SK Ecoplant signed the Memorandum of Understanding.
The details of future cooperation within the framework of the signed Memorandum were discussed at a bilateral meeting by the Head of Tau-Ken Samruk and the President of the Institute of Geology and Mineral Resources (KIGAM).
During the detailed conversation, Bakyt Chirchikbayev and Pyeong-Koo Lee exchanged views on the possibilities of introducing innovative technological solutions into the mining sector of Kazakhstan, working together in exploration and in general, discussed issues related to the development of the rare and rare earth elements sector.
KIGAM (Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources) is a South Korean geological research institute, a member of the National Research Council for Science and Technology, and a member of the National Association for Scientific and Technological Research.
The Korean Institute of Earth Sciences and Mineral Resources was founded in 1918, is funded by the government and develops several advanced scientific areas – technologies for exploration of rare metals using artificial intelligence, research of mineral resources in the Solar system, in particular, on the Moon and Mars.
SK Ecoplant is one of the divisions of the South Korean conglomerate SK Group (the second largest after Samsung Group), founded in 1953. The company operates in the field of waste recycling and renewable energy sources. As of 2023, SK Ecoplant’s assets amounted to USD 10.9 billion, with revenue of USD6.5 billion