Development assistance by Korea Exim Bank to increase by $ 300 M

Development assistance by the Korea Exim Bank Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to Sri Lanka will increase by US$ 300 million to 500 million over the next three years, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs said yesterday.

At a media briefing held in Colombo, Foreign Affairs Minister Mangala Samaraweera said the Korean government would also provide US$ 200,000 in kind, as humanitarian assistance for drought relief.

Marking four decades of diplomatic relations with the visiting foreign minister of the Republic of Korea, Yun Byung-se, the two countries signed an MoU on Cooperation between the Bandaranaike International Diplomatic Training Institute of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Sri Lanka (BIDTI) and the Korean National Diplomatic Academy (KNDA) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea.

“I welcome this MoU which opens a new chapter of mutual cooperation between our two diplomatic academies in training our diplomats,” said Samaraweera.

Celebrating four decades of diplomatic relations between the countries, discussions were also held on ways and means of further enhancing bilateral cooperation in areas of mutual interest, including political relations, economic cooperation, development cooperation, labour relations, defence and cultural cooperation, as well as cooperation in regional and multilateral fora.

"Particular attention was paid to ways and means of further strengthening our bilateral trade and investment partnership, as well as the ongoing collaboration on the Megapolis and Western Development Plan," the minister said.

Commenting on the situation in the Korean peninsula and regional security issues, Samaraweera called upon the DPRK to abide by its international obligations, ensuring an environment conducive to peace and security. Visiting foreign minister Yun Byung-se was deeply appreciative of Sri Lanka’s stance on the matter.

The minister’s visit is the first official visit by a Korean foreign minister since 1986. A logo was launched to celebrate 40 years of diplomatic relations between the two countries. (Nabeela Hussain)