South Korea: Kyrgyz President Japarov attends first South Korea-Central Asia Summit.

RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT "PRESIDENCY OF KYRGYZSTAN" HANDOUT — EDITORIAL USE ONLY SHOTLIST: SEOUL, SOUTH KOREA (SEPT. 16, 2026) (PRESIDENCY OF KYRGYZSTAN — RESTRICTED) 1. VEHICLE CARRYING KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SADYR JAPAROV ARRIVING AT VENUE WHERE SOUTH KOREA-CENTRAL ASIA SUMMIT IS HELD 2. UZBEK PRESIDENT SHAVKAT MIRZIYOYEV, TAJIK PRESIDENT EMOMALI RAHMON KAZAKH PRESIDENT KASSYM-JOMART TOKAYEV, SOUTH KOREAN PRESIDENT LEE JAE MYUNG, KYRGYZ PRESIDENT SADYR JAPAROV AND TURKMEN PRESIDENT SERDAR BERDIMUHAMEDOV POSING FOR PHOTO 3. FLAGS OF PARTICIPATING COUNTRIES 4. VARIOUS OF JAPAROV SPEAKING AS OTHER LEADERS LISTEN TO HIS SPEECHSEOUL, SOUTH KOREA — SEPT. 16, 2026 — RESTRICTION: USERS MUST CREDIT "PRESIDENCY OF KYRGYZSTAN" HANDOUT — EDITORIAL USE ONLY — Kyrgyz President Sadyr Japarov attended the inaugural South Korea-Central Asia Summit in Seoul on Wednesday, Sept. 16, and delivered a speech. South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held summit talks with Japarov, calling the Central Asian country a solid partner in politics and the economy, and expressing hope for expanded bilateral exchanges. Japarov, for his part, said his country considers South Korea one of its major cooperation partners in the Asia-Pacific region and prioritizes cooperation with Seoul in various sectors. The summit is expected to focus on trade, investment, energy, critical minerals and resilient supply chains as South Korea seeks deeper economic ties with the resource-rich region. The participants are South Korea, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan.