South Korean Prime Minister Lee arrives in Dhaka

South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-yeon has arrived in Dhaka on his first official visit to Bangladesh.

Senior Correspondentbdnews24.com
Published : 13 July 2019, 01:34 PM
Updated : 13 July 2019, 02:11 PM

Foreign Minister AK Abdul Momen received him at Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport about 6pm on Saturday, his public relations officer said.

During the two-day visit, Lee will meet President Md Abdul Hamid and Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina, among others. He will also talk to Bangladesh, Korea businesses on Saturday.

According to his itinerary, he will join the dinner of the Korean community in Dhaka on Saturday at the Hotel InterContinental where he will be staying during his visit.

On Sunday, he will pay homage to the independence heroes at the National Martyrs’ Memorial in Savar. Then he will visit YoungoneHitech Sportswear Ltd in Dhaka EPZ.

He will also visit National Institute of Advanced Nursing Education and Research at Mugdapara in the capital.

A number of deals are expected to be signed during his official talk with Hasina.

Hasina will also host a banquet dinner in his honour on Sunday.

He will leave Dhaka on Monday after visiting the Bangabandhu Memorial Museum at Dhanmondi.

One of Bangladesh's strong development partners, South Korea opened its embassy in Dhaka in early 1975, more than a year after the establishment of diplomatic relations in 1973.

Later, South Korean entrepreneurs came to Bangladesh to set up garment factories, many of whom are still active.

A World Bank development report said the boom of Bangladesh’s readymade garment industry that wheels its economy is because of initial training from Korean Daewoo Corporation in 1979, when Bangladesh had no modern industry.

The corporation teamed up with Bangladesh’s Desh Ltd and trained its 130 newly recruited and educated employees who later left Desh to start their own clothing businesses for the industry to flourish.

The readymade clothes are now the largest export earners of Bangladesh.

South Korea supports Bangladesh through grants, soft loans and technical cooperation.

The ongoing country strategy, 2016 to 2020, of its development arm, KOICA, is mostly focused on health, education, transportation and ICT.