Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina on Tuesday called for economic cooperation among the countries in South and Southeast Asia for the mutual benefits of the people of the region.
“Economic cooperation is necessary among the countries in South Asia and South East Asia for the mutual benefit of the people of this region,” she said.
The prime minister said this while outgoing Ambassador of Republic of Korea Lee Jang-keun called on her at her official residence Ganabhaban.
PM’s press secretary Ihsanul Karim briefed the reporters after the call on.
He said that PM Hasina admired Korean success in transformation of the country into a developed country within a generation.
She mentioned that this success inspired Bangladesh in its endeavour to steer the nation towards development and prosperity.
The PM recalled her two visits to South Korea saying that in the second visit she witnessed the amazing development there.
Ambassador Lee emphasised on the enhancement of trade, official development assistance (ODA), employment and investment between the two countries.
The ambassador said that Korea is interested to take skilled manpower from shipbuilding sector.
He highly appreciated the vibrant the socio-economic development of Bangladesh under the visionary leadership of PM Hasina, said the press secretary.
The envoy expressed deep appreciation for extensive cooperation and hospitality by the prime minister and Bangladesh people during his tenure.
Expressing satisfaction with his tenure in Bangladesh, he said the people here are in his heart.
Ambassador Lee shared with the prime minister recent milestone development in relations between South Korea and Bangladesh in the multiple areas such as trade, official development assistance, expatriate workers and investment in the year of 50th anniversary of Korea-Bangladesh diplomatic ties in 2023, according to South Korean Embassy in Dhaka.
Ambassador Lee explained that the trade between Korea and Bangladesh crossed the $3 billion mark in 2022 and $2 billion in 2021 for the first time, which was stagnant at around $1.5~1.8 billion over a decade before the COVID-19 pandemic.
He elaborated that the South Korean government has decided to provide Bangladesh government with $3 billion under the EDCF (Economic Development Cooperation Fund), soft loan program, in the period of 2023 and 2027.
South Korea’s previous commitment stood at $500 million for 3 years when Ambassador Lee arrived in Bangladesh in June 2020.
Expatriate workers are the other arena where “we see meaningful development over one or two years”, Lee said.
While only around 1,500 Bangladeshi workers were dispatched to Korea under Employment Permit System (EPS) until 2021, the number increased significantly to 5,891 in 2022 and Korean government plans to receive 10,000 Bangladeshi expatriate workers this year.
He also added, South Korea became the largest foreign direct investor to Bangladesh in the year of 2022 with a gross volume of 662 million dollars.
PM Hasina congratulated the envoy on successful completion of his tenure in Bangladesh and thanked him for his efforts to further boost Korea-Bangladesh relations.
She also looked forward to continuous cooperation with Korea in the course of the socio-economic development of Bangladesh.
Prime Minister’s Ambassador-at-Large Mohammad Ziauddin and Prime Minister’s Principal Secretary Mohammad Tofazzel Hossain Miah were present at the meeting.
