▲ South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (R) and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow shake hands ahead of their summit talks at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Sept. 15, 2026. (Yonhap)
▲ South Korean President Lee Jae Myung (4th from R) and Turkmen President Serdar Berdimuhamedow (4th from L) hold summit talks at the presidential office Cheong Wa Dae in Seoul on Sept. 15, 2026. (Yonhap)

(ATTN: UPDATES with spokesperson's briefing)

SEOUL, Sept. 15 (Yonhap) -- President Lee Jae Myung thanked President Serdar Berdimuhamedow of Turkmenistan on Tuesday for the country's help in evacuating dozens of South Koreans from Iran following the outbreak of the U.S.-Iran war earlier this year.

Lee expressed his gratitude during a summit meeting with Berdimuhamedow at Cheong Wa Dae, which was held on the occasion of the inaugural South Korea-Central Asia Summit set for Wednesday.

"I deeply thank you for your special consideration in allowing our people and their families in Iran to safely escape through Turkmenistan during urgent situations in the Middle East last year and this year," Lee told the Turkmen president.

More than 30 South Koreans in Iran were evacuated by land route to Turkmenistan in March, shortly after the United States and Israel launched their war against Tehran in late February.

"The warm hand you extended at a difficult moment properly showed the deep trust and friendship between the two countries," Lee added.

Lee also noted the two countries have built the foundation for substantive cooperation since forging a mutually beneficial partnership in 2008, and expressed hope for producing tangible results, citing the potential of Turkmenistan's rich natural resources and its location bordering the Caspian Sea and the rest of Central Asia.

Berdimuhamedow responded that his country "assesses highly" South Korea's continued support for its various initiatives on the international stage, saying Turkmenistan also supports South Korea's position on key international issues, including Lee's North Korea initiative, known as END, or Exchange, Normalization and Denuclearization.

"We have consistently maintained the position that all issues pertaining to the Korean Peninsula should be resolved through peaceful dialogue and diplomatic means, and will continue to do so," he said.

During the closed-door portion of the meeting, Lee asked Berdimuhamedow for his attention and support for South Korean companies' participation in large-scale plant and infrastructure projects in Turkmenistan, according to presidential spokesperson Kang Yu-jung.

The two leaders agreed that Turkmenistan's vision to create a logistics hub as part of the "resurrection of the great Silk Road" will materialize as a new growth engine connecting Central Asia to the Caspian Sea, she said in a written briefing.

In particular, the two leaders agreed to further expand mutually beneficial cooperation through joint shipbuilding projects in Turkmenistan and develop their potential for cooperation in areas such as railway construction and new town development.

They additionally noted the importance of effective water management and anti-desertification measures in Turkmenistan, where much of the land is desert, and agreed to strengthen relevant cooperation by drawing on South Korea's smart water management technology.

Following the talks, the two countries signed 13 bilateral agreements and memorandums of understanding (MOUs) covering investment promotion, infrastructure projects, joint responses to transnational organized crimes and other sectors.

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