Thirty years of diplomacy between the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka

Colombo: Special Envoy of the President of the Republic of Korea, Honourable KWON O-ryong arrived in Sri Lanka on March 20, 2007 to celebrate the 30th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka.

During his visit, Honourable Kwon will pay a courtesy call on President Mahinda Rajapaksa and convey a letter of congratulations from President Roh Moo-hyun, of he Republic of Korea. He is scheduled to meet Foreign Minister Rohitha Bogollagama and exchange views on bilateral issues such as economic cooperation and cultural exchange.

The Embassy of Republic of Korea will host a reception for commemorating the 30th year of diplomatic ties between two countries on March 21. Honourable Kwon and distinguished guest from Sri Lanka and diplomatic corps will participate in the reception.

Since the establishment of diplomatic relations on November 14, 1977, Sri Lanka and Korea have enjoyed strong ties of friendship and cooperation in various fields such as trade, investment, labour, culture, education and sports. In recent years, cooperation in the fields of labour and development have been remarkably prominent.

Since 2004, Korea has provided new employment opportunities for Sri Lankan workers. The number of Sri Lankan employees in Korea reached almost 10,000 last year.

After the Tsunami disaster in 2004, Korea has pledged US$ 41 million for the rehabilitation and development projects of Sri Lanka including construction of an administrative complex and an international convention center in Hambantota, and the construction of the Sri Lanka - Korea friendship hospital in Godagama.