South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh, Park Young-sik, expressed the potential for enhanced bilateral relations between Bangladesh and South Korea during the latest edition of Cosmos Dialogue. He highlighted the need for both nations to expand high-level contacts to build on their achievements over the past five decades, aiming for even more prosperity in the future.
The dialogue, titled “Bangladesh-South Korea Relations: Prognosis for the Future,” was hosted by Cosmos Foundation. Dr Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury, President of Cosmos Foundation, chaired the session. The event featured insights from various experts, including former Ambassador Farooq Sobhan, Ambassador (Retd) Tariq A Karim, Rubana Huq, Lailufar Yasmin, and Parvez Karim Abbasi.
Ambassador Park identified potential areas of bilateral cooperation, including footwear and leather, ICT, pharmaceuticals, shipbuilding, Blue Economy, deep-sea fishing, agriculture, agricultural machinery, greenhouse, and carbon trading. He highlighted the recent meeting between Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and South Korean President Yoon Suk-yeol, where they pledged to deepen cooperation in trade, commerce, culture, and people-to-people contacts.
Since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1973, Bangladesh and South Korea have strengthened cooperation in politics, economy, culture, development, and human exchange. The two-way trade has exceeded 3 billion dollars, and South Korea’s investment in Bangladesh ranks fifth in terms of accumulated amount. The ambassador emphasized ongoing discussions on diversifying Bangladesh’s exports, an Economic Partnership Agreement, education collaboration, climate change, foreign direct investment, and fashion design. The dialogue was attended by diplomats, foreign affairs experts, and economists.
