Bangladesh invites South Korean president to visit
State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir hands over an invitation letter from the prime minister to the South Korean president in Seoul on Friday
Bangladesh has invited South Korean President Lee Jae Myung to visit Bangladesh. On Friday, October 2, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir handed over an invitation letter to Lee Jae Myung on behalf of Prime Minister Tarique Rahman. The letter requested the South Korean president to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time.
Earlier on Friday, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humayun Kabir held separate meetings in Seoul with Park Yun Joo, First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea and Lee Do Hee, Vice Minister of National Defense, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said. Various issues of mutual interest were discussed during the meetings with special emphasis on political and economic cooperation.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs said the meetings reaffirmed the shared commitment of Bangladesh and South Korea to further strengthen their longstanding partnership and expand cooperation for mutual benefit.
During the meeting with Vice Minister Park, State Minister Humayun Kabir expressed Bangladesh’s readiness to work closely with the Korean government to further deepen the longstanding friendly relations.
Praising Korea’s remarkable transformation as a global economic and technological leader, the state minister said Korea’s development experience continues to inspire Bangladesh.
He expressed satisfaction with regular foreign affairs consultations and other high-level exchanges and reaffirmed Bangladesh’s support for maintaining peace and stability on the Korean Peninsula.
The state minister welcomed the progress made toward finalizing the Bangladesh Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and expressed hope that the agreement would be signed soon.
He called for increasing bilateral trade and investment, expanding market opportunities for Bangladeshi products and increasing Korean investment in semiconductors, electronics, shipbuilding, light engineering, high-end ready-made garments, ICT and other technology intensive sectors.
The state minister also highlighted opportunities in agriculture, agro processing, logistics, digital transformation, skills development and the services sector. Humayun Kabir sought Korea’s support in expanding employment opportunities for skilled and semi-skilled Bangladeshi workers through the Employment Permit System.
Praising Korea’s development partnership, he called for further cooperation in climate resilience, infrastructure, human resource development, technical and vocational education and digital technology. He praised Korea’s humanitarian assistance for the Rohingya and sought continued support for their swift and sustainable repatriation to Myanmar.
The two sides exchanged views on various regional and international issues and reaffirmed the importance of mutual cooperation in multilateral forums.
During the meeting with Korea’s Vice Minister of National Defense Lee, both sides discussed ways to further strengthen bilateral defense cooperation including training, capacity building, United Nations peacekeeping operations and cooperation in the defense industry sector.
At the meeting, the state minister praised Korea’s cooperation in training and capacity building for members of Bangladesh’s armed forces, police and civil defense. He also encouraged Korea to send its military personnel to participate in specialized courses conducted by the Bangladesh Armed Forces.
The state minister informed Korea that Bangladesh is in the process of establishing a Defense Industrial Zone. He invited Korea to explore investment opportunities in the initiative to promote cooperation in technology and industry and achieve mutual economic benefits.
