SEOUL-- South Korea and Tajikistan have agreed to deepen and expand their substantive partnerships as their top diplomats discussed ways for the mutually beneficial development of bilateral relations, according to Seoul's ministry Tuesday.

The country's foreign minister Chung Eui-yong met with his Tajik counterpart, Sirojiddin Muhriddin, in the capital city of Dushanbe on Monday (local time) during his three-day trip to the Central Asian country.

The two sides agreed to bolster bilateral economic ties and expand cooperation in tackling such problems as the COVID-19 pandemic and climate change, Chung's ministry said.

Chung also paid a courtesy call to Tajik President Emomali Rahmon and expressed hope for synergy between South Korea's New Northern Policy and Tajikistan's economic development plans.

Rahmon said his country hopes to expand cooperation in green energy, agriculture, tourism and other promising sectors with South Korea.

Chung is scheduled to take part in the 14th Korea-Central Asian Cooperation Forum to discuss collaboration on post-pandemic economic recovery, along with foreign ministers from Tajikistan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

He became the first South Korean foreign minister to visit the Central Asian country since the two nations established diplomatic relations in 1992.

Source: Yonhap News Agency