At the State Guest House Jamuna here today, Park Young-sik, the Republic of Korea’s ambassador to Bangladesh, bid Chief Adviser Professor Muhammad Yunus farewell, concluding his diplomatic service in Bangladesh.
Ambassador Park conveyed his “deep sorrow” and sympathies during the meeting on the recent drone attack on a United Nations (UN) peacekeeping base in Sudan’s Abyei region that claimed the lives of six Bangladeshi peacekeepers.
The ambassador also conveyed his best wishes for Bangladesh’s democratic transition, expressing hope that the country would hold a free, fair, and peaceful election on February 12.
Both sides discussed ways to further strengthen Bangladesh-South Korea relations, including attracting greater Korean investment in Bangladesh, the status of a planned comprehensive economic agreement, investment in human capital, and the expansion of cultural exchanges between the two friendly nations.
Chief Adviser Professor Yunus congratulated Ambassador Park on the successful completion of his tenure and thanked him for his contributions to deepening bilateral relations.
He said Bangladesh has undertaken a series of reforms to attract foreign direct investment in the country.
The Chief Adviser noted that the interim government has resolved a long-standing issue related to the Korean Export Processing Zone in Chattogram, expressing hope that this would attract leading South Korean companies to Bangladesh.
In response, Ambassador Park said Korean electronics giant Samsung, is now keen to expand its operations in Bangladesh, including scaling up mobile phone production in the country.
He added that the two countries expect to hold a new round of negotiations on a planned Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement in February, which would pave the way for duty-free access for Bangladeshi goods-particularly ready-made garments-to the South Korean market, one of the world’s largest economies.
The envoy pointed out that less than 5% of clothing imports into South Korea, a market dominated by exports from Vietnam and Indonesia, currently come from Bangladesh.
He claimed that through bilateral and multilateral free trade agreements, items from the two South East countries have duty-free market access to Korea.
Recalling the deep cultural and people-to-people ties between the two nations, the Chief Adviser suggested that South Korea consider establishing more training centres, particularly language institutes, to enhance the skills and employability of Bangladeshi youth.
SDG Coordinator and Senior Secretary Lamiya Morshed was also present during the meeting.
