Korea-Sri Lanka ties further strengthened

Monday, 5 August 2013 00:00 - - {{hitsCtrl.values.hits}}

The long-standing friendly relations between Korea and Sri Lanka have been a major asset to Sri Lanka’s development. Economic Development Minister Basil Rajapaksa made this observation when he met a six-member delegation from the Korean National Assembly at the Ministry office recently as part of a friendship exchange between the Sri Lankan Parliament and Korea’s National Assembly. The Korean delegation led by Parliamentarian Shin Sung Bum, who is the President of the Korea-Sri Lanka Parliamentary Friendship Association, said that their visit would further strengthen the friendship between the two countries. They have been impressed by the performance of Sri Lankans (numbering about 23,000) employed in Korea at present.

They further said that steps would be taken to attract more Korean tourists and investors by drawing up plans to forge religious and cultural relations. The delegation expressed its readiness to share with Sri Lanka experiences gained in developing Korean villages. Strengthening bilateral parliamentary exchanges apart, this visit will also inject new impetus into the comprehensive strengthening of bilateral ties. Minister Rajapaksa was of the view that people are happy to see an increasingly robust Sri Lanka-Korea relationship, and that he is looking forward to expanding exchanges and cooperation with the Korean Parliament. Minister Basil Rajapaksa expressed Sri Lanka’s gratitude to the Korean Government for providing relief to this country at various levels during the tsunami of December 2004. He added that by now a large number of Korean investors were involved in Sri Lanka’s construction sector. The Minister also noted Korean assistance in the areas of health, administration and highway construction among others. He expressed confidence that tourist arrivals from Korea would increase after direct fights between the two countries begin. The Minister said that the visit was of great importance to both sides and in recent years there had been a steady increase in the high profile visits between the two countries including President Rajapaksa’s visit, which resulted in an increase in bilateral exchanges. The Korean delegation included Song Kwung Ho, Jiong Kub Yung, Lee Chan Yeol, Byong Yovun, Lee Kyung and Lim Jin Jyo Korean. Korea’s Ambassador in Sri Lanka Jongmoon Choi also participated.