On March 16, an opening ceremony for the preparatory office was held at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. This office will coordinate the preparations for the first "Central Asia — Republic of Korea" summit. The summit is scheduled to take place on September 16–17, 2026, in Seoul.

The event was attended by heads and staff of diplomatic missions from Central Asian countries, as well as representatives of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. Diplomats from the Embassy of Turkmenistan in the Republic of Korea also delivered speeches at the ceremony.

The ceremony was opened by the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Cho Tae-yul. In his speech, he emphasized that the first summit of the heads of state of Central Asian countries and the Republic of Korea will be a highly significant political and diplomatic event, fostering the further development and expansion of constructive cooperation between the nations.

Noting that the Korean side attaches great importance to this high-level forum, the Minister stated that a special preparatory office was established to ensure thorough organizational and protocol preparations for the summit.

Furthermore, Minister Cho pointed out that close cooperation between the Government of the Republic of Korea and the governments of the participating countries is a key condition for the successful hosting of this inaugural summit.

Representatives of the diplomatic corps attending the event expressed their gratitude to the Government of the Republic of Korea for its efforts in preparing for the summit and declared their readiness to cooperate closely to ensure the event's success.