South Korean PM promises 11,000 jobs for Lankans

SOUTH KOREAN Prime Minister Lee Han Chan has promised to provide 11,000 jobs in Korea for Sri Lankans.

He made this pledge during a meeting with his Sri Lankan counterpart Mahinda Rajapakse who is on an official visit to Seoul.

The South Korean leader also pledged to grant US $ 3.5 million for post tsunami reconstruction work in Sri Lanka.

A media release issued from the Prime Minister's Office states the Prime Minister was received at the airport by Sri Lankan Ambassador in South Korea E.H. Wijesiri. Rajapakse is in Seoul to participate in the South Global Forum on Reinventing Governments to suit the new millennium.

Following his arrival, the Prime Minister had bilateral talks with South Korean Prime Minister Lee Han Chan. In the course of the discussion, the Korean Prime Minister pledged to grant US $ 3.5 million for post tsunami reconstruction work in Sri Lanka.

Out of this, US$ 1.5 million will be an outright grant whilst the balance would be a loan on easy terms. He also promised to provide 11,000 employment opportunities in Korea for Sri Lankans.

The Korean Prime Minister said he was very happy to have met the Sri Lankan Prime Minister on five occasions during his tenure of office and was also highly appreciative of the diplomatic skills of President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga.

The two Prime Ministers also exchanged views as to how the long standing bilateral relations between the two countries could be strengthened and provide more opportunities for Korean entrepreneurs to invest in Sri Lanka. A further request of Rajapakse to construct an Administrative Secretariat for Hambantota District was well received.