Chungcheongnam-do Province, together with the Chungnam Northern Chamber of Commerce and local business leaders, conducted a 2-night, 4-day working-level visit to Tashkent, the capital of Uzbekistan, and Fergana, a friendship exchange region, from the 22nd to the 25th.

This visit to Uzbekistan was in response to Fergana Governor Bozarov Khairulla's visit to Chungnam Province in November of last year, reciprocating Governor Kim Tae-heum's invitation.

Notably, this visit was the first jointly planned trip in cooperation with the Fergana Province Trade Representative Office in Korea, which opened in the province in line with the Fergana Governor's visit last year. The trade representative office played a crucial role in facilitating communication between the provincial government and the delegation, as well as acting as a bridge during business-to-business meetings.

The working-level delegation consisted of 11 members, including the heads of the provincial International Cooperation Team and Foreign Resident Policy Team, the Vice Chairman of the Chungnam Northern Chamber of Commerce, and businesspeople hoping to explore the market.

On the first day of the visit, the 22nd, in Tashkent, Uzbekistan's capital, Kim Chang-geon, the newly appointed trade advisor for Uzbekistan, explained the general overview and market conditions of Uzbekistan, and shared information on import/export trends and business support policies.

On the second day, the 23rd, the delegation moved to Fergana Province and paid a courtesy call on Governor Bozarov Khairulla. They reached a consensus on actively utilizing the Fergana Province Trade Representative Office in Korea to expand practical cooperation between the two regions.

Following this, through a business-to-business (B2B) import/export consultation meeting hosted by Fergana Province, they examined the product competitiveness of 19 participating Fergana companies and held concrete discussions on the potential for local businesses to enter the market.

In the afternoon, the delegation visited the Global Human Resources Development Center within the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in Fergana Province. Together with business leaders, they toured a vocational training system specialized for foreign workers and discussed the recent shortage of on-site labor across various industries in Korea, as well as measures to prevent foreign worker attrition and to cultivate local technical talent needed in Chungnam Province.

Later, they moved to the Global Textile spinning factory, a major local industrial facility, to observe regional industry trends and identify potential areas for collaboration.

On the last day, the 24th, the delegation returned to Tashkent and visited Korean companies that had already entered the local market. They held business meetings to listen to the potential for investment in Uzbekistan and the various difficulties encountered in operating businesses there.

They also visited a large supermarket selling Korean products to conduct local market research, exploring the potential and strategies for companies in Chungnam Province to enter the market.

A provincial official stated, "In today's global economy, the need to diversify export markets is more critical than ever due to uncertain external conditions such as deglobalization and the reorganization of global supply chains. Through this visit, we aim to strengthen practical ties with our friendly cooperative region and support local businesses in establishing a foothold in the emerging market of Central Asia."

Meanwhile, Uzbekistan is the most populous country in Central Asia (with a population of 37 million as of this year), and its land area is twice that of the Korean Peninsula at 448,900 square kilometers. It continues to maintain a solid annual growth rate of 6%.

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