Dhaka August 31 2022 :
Ambassador Lee Jang-keun joined the DCAB Talks at the National Press Club on 31 August, at the invitation of Diplomatic Correspondents Association, Bangladesh (DCAB).
Expressing gratitude for DCAB members’ cooperation for reporting Korea’s engagement and activities in Bangladesh, Ambassador Lee elaborated improving and expanding Korea-Bangladesh bilateral relations from four aspects.
First, trade. We are witnessing increasing trade between the two countries. The trade volume between Korea and Bangladesh reached a record high in 2021 crossing 2 billion US dollars.
Second, expatriate workers. Normally less than 2,000 Bangladesh expatriate workers were dispatched to Korea before the pandemic. However, January and August this year, more than 3,000 Bangladesh expatriate workers went to Korea which is a record high number.
Third, ODA. Bangladesh is the third major recipient of Korea’s ODA. We expect that Bangladesh will be the second largest recipient this year. Korea has decided to significantly increase the size of Korea’s soft loan, what we call EDCF, to Bangladesh to 3 billion dollars from 700 million dollars over the next five years.
Fourth, Investement. Korea is the fifth major foreign investor. According to the BB, the accumulated stock of Korean FDI increased to 1.4 billion dollars in 2021/22 from 1.1 billion dollars in 2019/20. Korea is the fifth major foreign investor.
In closing, Ambassador Lee stressed Korea and Bangladesh will celebrate 50 years of diplomatic ties next year. And also said we should make the most of this rare opportunity to further strengthen the relations.
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