Sri Lanka & Republic Korea discusses expansion of economic cooperation

Sri Lanka and Republic Korea discussed expansion of economic cooperation between the two countries with investment opportunities for Korean companies in Sri Lanka along with issues of mutual interest during a high level meeting between Finance Minister Mangala Samaraweer and newly appointed Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Strategy and Finance of the Republic of Korea Kim Dong-yeon last week, a statement from Srilankan embassy in Seoul said. 

During the meeting that took place on the sidelines of the Second Annual Meeting of the Board of Governors of the Asian Infrastructure Investment Bank (AIIB) held in Jeju on 16 - 17 June, the two Ministers focused on EDCF cooperation extended under the Korea EXIM Bank and the 40th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and the Republic of Korea which is celebrated this year. 

Minister Samaraweera, who led Sri Lanka’s delegation to the AIIB Second Annual Meeting hosted by the Korean Government, addressed Round Table Discussion on Financing and Asia’s Infrastructure Priorities on 17 June.  The inauguration of the Second Annual Meeting was attended by the President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in, among other dignitaries.  On the sidelines of the AIIB Annual Meeting, the Minster also held bilateral meetings with the Minister of Finance of India Arun Jaitley and the Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia Sri Mulyani Indrawati where issues of mutual interest were discussed.  

Minister Samarasinghe was accompanied on the visit by Deputy Secretary to the Treasury Chandra Ekanayake; Secretary, Ministry of National Policies and Economic Affairs M.I.M. Rafeek; Sri Lanka’s Ambassador to the Republic of Korea Manisha Gunasekera; and Director General, Department of External Resources Priyantha Ratnayake.