Korea, Uzbekistan sign MOU to expand agricultural cooperation

Korea’s Rural Development Administration signed an MOU with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Agriculture on Monday to expand bilateral agricultural cooperation and support sustainable development. The deal was signed ahead of the Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul on Wednesday. It focuses on training agricultural specialists, sharing farming technologies, and improving productivity through advanced and sustainable practices.

The RDA is an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs.

The agreement follows talks that began in October last year and were finalized in August after Lee Seung-don visited Uzbekistan in May.

By 2025, the RDA had provided capacity-building training to 116 Uzbek agricultural officials and workers.

The RDA said its cooperation with Uzbekistan began in 2022, when Uzbekistan joined the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative.

Joint projects have included standardizing and digitizing soil information and identifying pepper and tomato varieties suited to changing climate conditions.

Published Sep 16, 2026 2:42 pm KST

President Lee Jae Myung and Uzbek President Shavkat Mirziyoyev, second from left, congratulate Rural Development Administration (RDA) Administrator Lee Seung-don, right, and Uzbek Deputy Prime Minister Jamshid Khodjaev, left, after they signed a memorandum of understanding on bilateral cooperation to share Korean agricultural expertise with Uzbekistan at Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul, Monday. Courtesy of RDA

Korea’s Rural Development Administration (RDA) signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Uzbekistan’s Ministry of Agriculture on Monday to support sustainable agricultural development and expand bilateral cooperation.

The RDA, an agency under the Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, said the agreement was signed ahead of the Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul on Wednesday. The MOU aims to help Uzbekistan train agricultural specialists by drawing on Korea’s farming technologies and the RDA’s experience in structured training programs.

Under the agreement, the two countries will cooperate to improve agricultural productivity through advanced technologies and sustainable farming practices. They will also expand knowledge-sharing, technical guidance and consulting, professional training and exchanges among agricultural institutions and experts.

The RDA will help develop customized training programs that reflect Uzbekistan’s farming conditions and needs. It also plans to strengthen the capabilities of researchers, agricultural workers and farmers through exchanges and invitation programs for specialists from both countries.

The agreement follows discussions that began in October last year, when the RDA and Uzbekistan’s agriculture ministry explored ways to support the development of agricultural professionals. RDA Administrator Lee Seung-don visited Uzbekistan in May and met with the Uzbek agriculture minister. After further consultations, the two sides finalized the wording of the MOU in August.

The RDA has cooperated with Uzbekistan on agricultural technology since the Central Asian country joined the Asian Food and Agriculture Cooperation Initiative in 2022. Joint projects have included standardizing and digitizing soil information and identifying promising pepper and tomato varieties better suited to changing climate conditions.

By 2025, the RDA had provided capacity-building training to 116 Uzbek agricultural officials and workers in areas including rural extension services, rice production, livestock, horticulture and agricultural development.

The agency has also carried out locally tailored technology development, demonstration and dissemination projects through its Korea Program on International Agriculture since 2009. Its cooperation with Uzbekistan has covered rice, livestock, vegetables and rural extension services.

The RDA said the projects contributed to the establishment of a rice seed multiplication center under a presidential decree issued by Uzbekistan in September 2025.

“This agreement will serve as an opportunity to take our accumulated agricultural technology cooperation with Uzbekistan to the next level,” Lee said. “We will actively share the RDA’s agricultural technologies and educational experience to strengthen Uzbekistan’s agricultural workforce and promote sustainable development in both countries.”

韩国农村振兴厅周一与乌兹别克斯坦农业部签署了一份谅解备忘录，旨在扩大双边农业合作，支持可持续发展。该备忘录在周三于首尔举行的韩国-中亚峰会前夕签署。备忘录重点关注农业专家培训、农业技术共享以及通过先进和可持续的实践提高农业生产力。

RDA是农业、食品和农村事务部下属机构。

该协议是在去年10月开始的谈判之后达成的，谈判于今年8月完成，此前李承敦于5月访问了乌兹别克斯坦。

到 2025 年，RDA 已为 116 名乌兹别克斯坦农业官员和工人提供了能力建设培训。

RDA表示，其与乌兹别克斯坦的合作始于2022年，当时乌兹别克斯坦加入了亚洲粮食和农业合作倡议。

联合项目包括土壤信息的标准化和数字化，以及确定适合不断变化的气候条件的辣椒和番茄品种。

发布于2026年9月16日下午2:42（韩国标准时间）

周一，在首尔青瓦台，韩国总统李在明和乌兹别克斯坦总统沙夫卡特·米尔济约耶夫（左二）向韩国农村振兴厅厅长李承敦（右）和乌兹别克斯坦副总理贾姆希德·霍贾耶夫（左）表示祝贺，此前他们签署了一份关于与乌兹别克斯坦分享韩国农业技术的双边合作谅解备忘录。图片由韩国农村振兴厅提供。

韩国农村振兴厅（RDA）周一与乌兹别克斯坦农业部签署谅解备忘录（MOU），以支持可持续农业发展并扩大双边合作。

韩国农村振兴厅（RDA，隶属于韩国农林畜产食品部）表示，该协议是在周三首尔举行的韩国-中亚峰会前夕签署的。该谅解备忘录旨在利用韩国的农业技术和RDA在系统培训项目方面的经验，帮助乌兹别克斯坦培养农业专家。

根据协议，两国将合作通过先进技术和可持续耕作方式提高农业生产力。双方还将扩大知识共享、技术指导和咨询、专业培训以及农业机构和专家之间的交流。

区域发展署将协助制定符合乌兹别克斯坦农业实际情况和需求的定制化培训项目。此外，该署还计划通过两国专家交流和邀请项目，提升研究人员、农业工作者和农民的能力。

该协议是在去年10月开始的磋商基础上达成的。当时，韩国农村振兴厅（RDA）与乌兹别克斯坦农业部探讨了如何支持农业专业人才的培养。RDA厅长李承敦于今年5月访问乌兹别克斯坦，并与乌兹别克斯坦农业部长举行了会晤。经过进一步磋商，双方于8月最终敲定了谅解备忘录的文本。

自乌兹别克斯坦于 2022 年加入亚洲粮食及农业合作倡议以来，RDA 就与乌兹别克斯坦在农业技术领域开展了合作。联合项目包括土壤信息的标准化和数字化，以及寻找更适应气候变化条件的有前景的辣椒和番茄品种。

到 2025 年，RDA 已为 116 名乌兹别克斯坦农业官员和工人提供了能力建设培训，培训领域包括农村推广服务、水稻生产、畜牧业、园艺和农业发展。

该机构自 2009 年以来，通过其韩国国际农业项目，开展了针对当地情况的技术开发、示范和推广项目。其与乌兹别克斯坦的合作涵盖了水稻、畜牧业、蔬菜和农村推广服务。

RDA表示，这些项目有助于根据乌兹别克斯坦总统于2025年9月颁布的法令建立一个水稻种子繁殖中心。

李表示：“这项协议将为我们把与乌兹别克斯坦积累的农业技术合作提升到一个新的水平提供契机。我们将积极分享乌兹别克斯坦农村发展局的农业技术和教育经验，以增强乌兹别克斯坦的农业劳动力，并促进两国的可持续发展。”