The Minister of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan and Ambassador Extraordinary and Plenipotentiary of the Republic of Korea to the Republic of Kazakhstan discussed new areas of co-operation.

The agenda of the working meeting is to strengthen the relationship between the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Kazakhstan and universities, scientific institutes of Korea, as well as the opening of a branch of Woosong University in Turkestan region.

Welcoming the guests, Sayasat Nurbek expressed his gratitude for the visit and noted that the Ministry attaches great importance to the development of Kazakh-Korean cooperation in science and higher education. The Minister presented the reforms carried out by the Head of State Kasym-Jomart Tokayev in the field of higher education, as well as presented the project and elaborated on the opening of branches of foreign universities, the possibilities of the Bolashak programme.

"Korea is actually a great example of a middle power. Korean universities have made significant progress over the past decades, especially KAIST - Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology. We would like to expand the list of Korean universities for co-operation, to this end we have launched a fellowship programme. In addition, we have the Bolashak International Fellowship programme, where we send our researchers to the world's leading institutions of higher education. We will need your support in working with several Korean institutes and laboratories," S. Nurbek noted.

Representatives of the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in the Republic of Korea highly appreciated the work carried out by the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Republic of Korea on internationalisation of higher education. The Ambassador also expressed full readiness to strengthen ties between Kazakh and Korean universities.

"We are interested in co-operation in the field of education. Education is a very important investment for the development of a country. In Korea we call it an investment for the next 100 years. That's why education is a very important area for us and it is a parental priority in our country. We have many universities, the number of students applying for higher education is decreasing. This is happening because of declining demographics. Therefore, attracting foreign students expands the opportunities. Our co-operation with you is going in the right direction. The opening of the SeoulTech Higher School of Artificial Intelligence in Kyzylorda, as well as the signing of a memorandum between Baitursynuly University and Dong-Eui on the training of personnel for the automotive industry shows the interest of Kazakhstani youth in Korean education", - emphasised Jo Dae-ik.

During the meeting, special attention was paid to the establishment of a branch of Woosong University. The parties also discussed the prospects of co-operation with strong industrial corporations Hyundai and Kia for Kazakhstani students to undergo internships at the plants themselves.