South Korea’s tax agency chief visited Russia and Uzbekistan to discuss ways to strengthen ties with their respective agencies for offshore tax evasion and pave the way to resolve tax-related difficulties for local companies doing business operations there, the tax authority said Tuesday.

NTS Commissioner Kim Dae-ji met his Uzbek counterpart Sherzod Kudbiev for a bilateral meeting in the country’s capital Tashkent after meeting with the Federal Tax Service of Russia Commissioner Daniil Egorov on Friday. The bilateral meeting between tax chiefs in Korea and Russia was the first. It was the fourth with Uzbekistan.

The bilateral meetings were held in hopes of building channels to prevent double taxation, expanding cooperation networks for offshore tax evasion and sharing Korea’s electronic tax administration system to contribute to international community, according to officials.

In Moscow, Kim requested Egorov advance pricing arrangements between the two countries quickly and effectively. Russia’s tax agency promised to promptly cooperate, they added.

Kim also asked Uzbekistan for its support of South Korean companies facing tax-related problems in the central Asian country, after making visits to the firms who voiced difficulties with taxation amid the prolonged pandemic.

Russia is Korea’s 12th-largest trade partner and the 17th-most active market for Korean companies doing business abroad. It is also the 34th-most preferred investment destination for Koreans, the NTS said.

Uzbekistan is Korea’s 52nd-largest trade partner and the 24th-most active market for local firms operating business overseas. The country is the 52nd-most preferred investment location for Koreans as well, the tax agency added.