By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

Kazakhstan's Minister of Transport, Marat Karabaev met with South Korea’s Minister of Land, Infrastructure, and Transport, Park Sang Woo in Seoul on Oct. 30, 2024.

At the meeting, they discussed bilateral cooperation in the field of transport infrastructure and the implementation of several projects to develop transportation routes. 

One of the key topics was the possibility of increasing direct flights between Kazakhstan and South Korea. Currently, there are 14 passenger and 6 cargo flights per week between the two countries, mainly from Astana and Almaty to Seoul. Plans are now in place to launch direct flights from Shymkent to South Korea. They also touched upon the use of urban air mobility (UAM) in the future.

Additionally, the Korean side expressed interest in implementing road construction projects in Kazakhstan. It is worth noting that the construction quality monitoring of the "Almaty-Astana" highway is currently being managed by the Korean companies Dongsung Engineering and ISAN Corporation.

Minister Karabaev invited Minister Sang Woo Park to pay an official visit to Kazakhstan.  Overall, the transport ministers of Kazakhstan and South Korea expressed their readiness to further deepen cooperation in transport logistics and interaction, contributing to the strengthening of the enhanced strategic partnership between the two countries.