Korea yearns to be a beacon of hope and a source of inspiration for Sri Lanka to reach the pinnacle of national development and prosperity said Korean Ambassador to Sri Lanka Woonjin Jeong.
He said since the establishment of the diplomatic relations in 1977, Korea and Sri Lanka have come a long way together to form a cordial bilateral partnership. Based on the mutual trust and respect both countries have built over the years, the friendship between two countries will grow from strength to strength in the years to come.
“Sri Lanka is not only one of Korea’s priority ODA cooperation partner countries, but also one of the top five countries that are benefited from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of Korea. The sum of investment in various ODA projects and grants for Sri Lanka since 1987 is over 600 million USD,” he said.
He said the Sri Lanka office of KOICA, which was established in Colombo in 1994 has assisted and funded commercial and infrastructure projects of Sri Lanka, thus augmenting the development of Sri Lanka. Korea has been promoting projects in the various fields such as education, transportation, water resources, sanitation and regional development in Sri Lanka. As a reliable friend, Korea is a trustworthy partner of Sri Lanka to meet the current needs of national development. “Korea considers Sri Lanka as an important economic, trade and investment partner.
“In this context, Korea is extremely keen on boosting two-way trade and investment in ways which benefit the economies of both countries,” the ambassador said.In particular, the ongoing labour cooperation also attests the close relations of both countries. Approximately 3,000 diligent Sri Lankan workers seek job opportunities annually, and around 23,000 Sri Lankan workers are presently employed in Korea, contributing to the economic advancement of both countries,” the ambassador said.