By: Staff Writer
April 15, Colombo (LNW): Korea has pledged to increase support to Sri Lanka in several sectors including education, health, renewable energy, employment, agriculture and rural development
Ambassador of the Republic of Korea Miyon Lee has given this assurance when he called on Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena at the Prime Minister’s Office in Colombo to discuss follow up actions on the decisions taken at the discussions held during the Prime Minister’s visit.
Gunawardena held discussions with Korean Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, Speaker of National Assembly Kim Jin-pyo, Governor of Gyengsangbuk-do Province Lee Cheol-woo and former Secretary General of the United Nation and current President and chair of Green Growth Institute Ban Ki-moon.
On the request of the Prime Minister, Korea agreed to provide smart classrooms to 1,000 schools in Sri Lanka to assist the Government efforts to develop information technology education at school level.
Korea will also send doctors and medical teams for short-term medical practices at Government hospitals and to share their expertise with Sri Lankan doctors.
Ambassador Lee said that her country would work on a few new development projects in Sri Lanka in addition to early completion of the ongoing projects.
Ms Lee asserted that her country would work on a few new development projects in Sri Lanka in addition to early completion of the ongoing projects.
She said three projects on water treatment, sanitation, sewage disposal systems and dry zone agriculture have already been implemented. South Korea will also undertake a floating solar panel instalment on Chandrika Wewa in Ratnapura District as a pilot project in renewable energy.
Further, the South Korean leaders have agreed to increase the employment quota for Sri Lankan workers, both in skilled/professional sectors as well as the seasonal agriculture sector.
The Prime Minister thanked the South Korean government for the excellent cooperation and hospitality extended during his brief visit.
The Prime Minister said the Republic of Korea and its donor agencies as well as development foundations continue to undertake many welfare measures keeping up with the Korea’s magnanimous gesture of assisting Sri Lanka.
The Prime Minister said the deep friendship and bilateral relations between the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka continue to flourish to a remarkable level at present. Collaborations between the two countries also exist at a greater level including in academia, science and technology and cultural relations, he said.
Korea will increase its investments, trade and development cooperation. He also said further assistance will be extended for youth skills development in information technology and added that virtual teaching facilities could be extended to existing IT training centers by Korean IT experts.
