United News of Bangladesh

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-Keun on Thursday said Bangladesh is an attractive investment destination for Korea. Korean companies will find more opportunities as the Government of Bangladesh makes strenuous efforts to improve business environment by removing obstacles, he said at a country lecture webinar titled “Exploring Korea- Bangladesh Relations in the Last Five Decades and Beyond.” Bangladesh Institute of International and Strategic Studies (BIISS) organized the event where the Ambassador delivered his lecture as guest speaker. Also read: Korea to provide $700m in soft loans between 2021-25 He said the future of Bangladesh- Korea relations looks very bright and it will get brighter with diversified success stories. Director General of BIISS Major General Md. Emdadul Bari delivered the welcome address and Chairman of BIISS Ambassador M. Fazlul Karim presided over the session and delivered the concluding remarks. Ambassador Lee highlighted that Bangladesh and Republic of Korea enjoy friendly relations since the establishment of their diplomatic relations when the Republic of Korea recognized newly independent Bangladesh on 12th May 1972. Also read: S Korea for diversifying areas of cooperation, elevating ties with Bangladesh The year 2021 marks the 49th anniversary of Korea’s recognition of Bangladesh. He mentioned that during the past five decades, the relationship between two countries has expanded and developed on every field of cooperation. Since the early 1980s, Korea has been the leading foreign investor in the RMG sector of Bangladesh. Korea continued to hold its position as a major foreign investor in Bangladesh. “Slow but steadily, more and more Korean companies started investing in different potential areas like electronics, automobiles, and ICTs,” said the Ambassador. BIISS Chairman Fazlul Karim said the year 2021 marks the 49th anniversary of Korea-Bangladesh relations and during the past five decades the two countries have developed and enjoyed strong ties and partnership in every aspect and every field of cooperation. Aside from the conventional areas of cooperation, he said, both nations are enhancing their efforts to diversify relations. “People-to-people contacts are one of them.” BIISS DG Emdadul Bari said Bangladesh and Korea have a cultural affinity that can be tapped into to nurture further cultural exchange and people-to-people contact. Besides, he said, with the rise of Korean film industry, Korean culture is earning a soft corner amongst our teens and youth, many of whom already were avid fans of K-Pop. Senior officials from different ministries, ambassadors and high commissioners, senior civil and military officials, media, academia, teachers and students from different universities participated in the webinar and shared their opinions in the open discussion session.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has reaffirmed his commitment to take the bilateral ties with his host country to new heights and diversify the areas of cooperation through more engagement with the business communities in Chattogram. Stressing that the two countries have a great potential to further develop mutually beneficial economic ties, Lee said the first round table meeting in Chattogram, the gate to Bangladesh, would be another step forward towards this. The meeting on Korea-Bangladesh economic relations was held in Chattogram's World Trade Center Sunday. It was organised by the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in cooperation with the Chittagong Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCCI) and the Korea-Bangladesh Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KBCCI). Lee made a presentation on Korea-Bangladesh relations focusing on trade and investment. Read: S Korean companies to be interested in Bangladesh’s nuclear energy sector: Envoy He also asked for the support of the CCCI for the Korean business community in Chattogram, mentioning the necessity of listening to the current investors to attract more Korean companies.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun said on Monday that many Korean companies “will be very interested” in finding opportunities in Bangladesh, including nuclear energy generation, as it has the world’s top level technical capability in almost all the areas. “I think many Korean companies will show interest. We’ve already collaborated with the United Arab Emirates (UAE),” he said while responding to questions from diplomatic correspondents after visiting Panam city and Baro Sardar Bari. Korea, ranking the 6th in the world in terms of the total capacity of nuclear power generation, is a “world leader” in the peaceful use of nuclear energy from research to electricity production. The Ambassador said he is not sure about the financial capability as they do not mobilize huge amounts of financial resources. Also read: Looking for a place for Bangladesh’s second nuke plant: Hasina

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun on Thursday visited the construction site of the new specialized hospital under Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) and said it will serve as a symbol of close relationship between Bangladesh and Korea. "This Hospital will be the first specialized hospital in Bangladesh for the treatment of critical patients and serve as a symbol of our close relationship and ever-strengthening friendship," he said. During his visit to the site, Ambassador Lee said it is the largest project in medical area with Korea’s support. Vice-Chancellor of BSMMU Dr. Md. Sharfuddin Ahmed, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Health Md. Shahadat Hossain, Chairman and Director of the Project of BSMMU Md. Zulfiqur Rahman Khan and other staff of Hyundai Development Corporation, Sunjin Engineering and Samsung C&T were present. Also read: Chevron provides Covid-19 support to community hospitals

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun on Wednesday said the future of Bangladesh is very bright for its young people who are smart, talented and eager to make a better life and better future. He made remarks while addressing a function held at the Embassy of South Korea.  Six winning teams of the "2021 K-pop World Festival Bangladesh" audition were awarded at the function. The six teams are LXS, EXD, Lost Dynasty, Dxverse, Heaven's LAW, and Blue Poppers. LXS, the first prize winner, received $1,000 and EXD, the second prize winner received $500. Read: S Korean envoy shares historical documents with FM Momen The ambassador wished the young winners’ dreams come true.  He told the young winners that if there is any message that Korea can give to the world, it is a message of hope and dream. "K-pop stars such as BTS and Black Pink are giving a message of hope to the young generation around the world," he said. The 2021 K-pop Bangladesh audition was held virtually between June and July with a  co-sponsorship of Samsung Electronics in Bangladesh. The works of the six teams were sent to the organizer of the 2021 K-pop World Festival in Korea who showed interest in the work of the two teams, EXD and Heaven’s Law. Read: S Korean envoy discusses investment opportunities in Bangladesh The organizer will select 10 teams for the final competition among those selected at the country level competition around the world.   The six talented teams of Bangladesh youths were selected among 142 teams who participated in the contest by submitting their K-pop performance video clips. The Korean Embassy has been hosting  the K-pop festival annually since 2015, but due to the corona pandemic, the festival was held virtually in 2020 and 2021. Shefa Tabassum who had won the best prize for solo K-pop dancing performance   at the 2018 Changwon K-Pop World Festival in Korea participated in today’s ceremony as an Master of Ceremony(MC).   The video works of the six winners can be found at the Embassy's YouTube Channel.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun visited the University of Dhaka on Wednesday and handed over 100 books and multimedia materials on Korea and Korean language learning to the University. DU Vice Chancellor Dr. Md. Akhtaruzzaman and Library Director Mr. Nasir Uddin Munsi were present. Both sides agreed to further promote collaborative activities between the Embassy and the University based on the various successful cooperation programmes they have made during the past decades. Congratulating the centenary anniversary of Dhaka University, Ambassador Lee also proposed to work closely together for furthering ties between Korea and Bangladesh, in particular towards the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023. Read: Korean envoy visits NIANER; lauds role of nurses The Korea Corner was established at the University’s Central Library in July 2013 to promote the academic interest in Korea and Korea-Bangladesh relations among the University students, faculty members and general public.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has said his country wants to take the current relations with Bangladesh to a higher level tapping the enormous potential with focus on three strategies -- elevation, diversification and generation. “Tapping the enormous potential of cooperation and taking the current relations to a higher level are my goals and responsibility,” Ambassador Lee told UNB in an interview noting that Bangladesh and Korea have enjoyed solid and robust relations.  The South Korean envoy who steps into his second year of current tenure said elevation, diversification and generation are the three key words that he keeps in mind.  “I would like to take the current level of relations to a higher level: elevation. I would like to see more diversified areas of cooperation: diversification. And I would like to place the young people, the new and future generation, at the heart of my endeavour: generation,” Ambassador Lee who stepped into his second year of current tenure explained.  READ: Webinar highlights stronger Dhaka-Seoul trade ties, FTA He said South Korea has been a crucial partner and friend of Bangladesh during the course of the country’s successful economic development for the past decades.  It is well-known that Korean companies have played a key role in making Bangladesh’s RMG sector as it is today, the envoy said.  However, the level of cooperation between the two countries is still far below its potential. Surprisingly, Ambassador Lee said, bilateral trade volume has not increased at all for more than 10 years. The RMG sector still occupies the largest part in Korea’s investment in Bangladesh.  Ties beyond pandemic The unprecedented Covid-19 pandemic is causing a great deal of difficulties and challenges. The Korean envoy, however, said both Korea and Bangladesh have handled the situation rather successfully even though Bangladesh is currently tackling another surge of infections.   “As the saying goes, “A friend in need is a friend indeed.” I’m happy to say that Korea has been with Bangladesh in this difficult time,” he said, adding that they have provided various assistances to the Bangladesh government to help successfully address the challenges, including the 50 million US dollars as Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) soft loan at the end of the last year. The envoy said the prolonged corona pandemic has been causing difficulties in his efforts to take the relations to a new height.   “In particular, we couldn’t fully utilize the momentum of cooperation which we have successfully cultivated before the pandemic, such as the visit of the Korean Prime Minister in 2019,” Ambassador Lee said.   He hoped to revive the stalled diplomatic exchanges and activities during the latter part of this year.   “But, if the current pandemic situation is further prolonged and face-to-face diplomacy further hindered, I’m afraid that it could further slow down our efforts to achieve our desired goals,” said the Ambassador. He said Covid-19 is offering them an opportunity to think hard about the value and future of our relationship. “For the past year, I had many opportunities to participate in events to discuss and share ideas on the future of our relationship, and I was very encouraged to find the willingness and enthusiasm for stronger future ties from both sides.”   Every good relationship needs good planning and preparation as in the case with personal relationships, the envoy added.  

All foreign investors and business people working in Bangladesh should get equal treatment under the country’s Covid-19 vaccination program, South Korean Ambassador in Dhaka Lee Jang-keun said on Wednesday. Ambassador Lee said this will be in line with the government’s policy to promote business-friendly environment. Read: Korea to provide $700 mn of EDCF loan to Bangladesh He hoped that all foreign investors will be eligible for vaccinations as soon as the vaccine supply becomes normal in Bangladesh. Speaking at a virtual discussion, the ambassador pointed out that despite the growth of overall trade volume, bilateral trade between Dhaka and Seoul has remained static at $1.7 billion for the past decade. In order to realize the full bilateral commercial potentials he called for fostering a business-friendly environment, including addressing the challenges in tax and tariff policy, repatriation of profit, and streamlining administrative procedures. The Embassy of Bangladesh in Seoul hosted the virtual discussion on “Bangladesh and ROK: Trade and Investment Opportunities”. Read:S Korea pledges $200mn to provide vaccines in lower-income countries

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has expressed his government's commitment to continuously support strengthening the digital investigation capability of Bangladesh Police. Ambassador Lee met Inspector General of Bangladesh Police Dr. Benazir Ahmed on Tuesday and discussed bilateral cooperation in addressing challenges in the constantly changing security environment, particularly in cyberspace. Recognizing the close cooperation between the two countries and the Korean Government’s support in the capacity-building of Bangladesh Police, the two sides discussed the new assistance project by the Government of the Republic of Korea through KOICA titled “Safer Cyberspace for Digital Bangladesh.” Also read: PM wants to take partnership with S Korea to new height The project, which aims at strengthening the digital investigation capability of Bangladesh Police, consists of constructing Cyber Police Center (CPC) in Chattogram, providing digital investigation equipment in Dhaka, Chattogram, and Cox’s Bazar, dispatching digital investigation experts, and training of Bangladesh policemen in Korea. The project period spans 2020 to 2023 with a total budget of 4.8 million US dollars, said the South Korean Embassy in Dhaka. Between 2013 and 2016, Republic of Korea provided assistance to Bangladesh in establishing Cyber Investigation Center (CIC) and Cyber Training Center in Dhaka with a total project cost of $3 million. Also read: S Korean envoy shares historical documents with FM Momen Ambassador Lee expressed his appreciation to the Inspector General for the cooperation of Bangladesh Police in assuring the safety of Korean nationals living and doing business in Bangladesh. He also invited Benazir Ahmed to participate in the International Police Summit organized by the Korean National Police from 20 to 23 October this year.

South Korean Ambassador Lee Jang-keun has said Bangladesh is among the priority partner countries for Korea’s official development assistance (ODA) cooperation.