Webinar On Bangladesh-Republic of Korea: The 47th Anniversary of Diplomatic Ties

The South Asian Institute of Policy and Governance (SIPG) of North South University (NSU) and Embassy of the Republic of Korea (ROK) at Dhaka, jointly organized a webinar titled “Bangladesh-Republic of Korea: The 47th Anniversary of Diplomatic Ties” on 15^th December 2020. Distinguished panelists discussed the relationships between Bangladesh and Korea from political, economic, and cultural perspectives.

Dr. Sk. Tawfique M. Haque, Director, SIPG, NSU gave the welcome speech and SIPG's Senior Fellow. In the inauguration session, Foreign Secretary of Bangladesh, Mr. Masud Bin Momen thanked South Korea for supporting Bangladesh during the pandemic and also with the Rohingya crisis, hopes to see more proactive role from ROK for the repatriation. Mr. LEE Jang-keun, Ambassador to Bangladesh, gave a comprehensive introduction on similar history and culture between Republic of Korea-Bangladesh.

From the panel, Mr. SUNG Ki-hak, Chairman and CEO of Youngone Corporation, said how time has come to possibly start negotiating an FTA with Bangladesh and Republic of Korea.  While professor and Dean, School of Business and Economics of NSU, Dr. Abdul Hannan Chowdhury, highlighted the importance of collaboration in terms of knowledge, technology and skill transfers. Professor Delwar Hossain, Department of International Relations, the University of Dhaka, addressed the challenges and scopes of BD-ROK relationship in terms of geopolitics.

Regarding bilateral and economic collaboration, Professor CHOE Wongi, Head of Center for ASEAN-Indian Studies, IFANS, elaborated on the core elements of the new Southern Policy of Korea and the benefits of Republic of Korea joining Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA) where Bangladesh will be the chair for 2021-2023.

Director of Asia and Pacific Division 2, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. SHIN Dong Woo, said Bangladesh will need to reassure Korean investors on the advantageous economic potential and also consider collaborating in other sectors like energy and ICT.

Mr. Khondker Talha, DG of East Asia and Pacific Wing, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, addressed the importance to find out the effects of partnership when Bangladesh graduates from LDC.  Ms. Abida Islam, Ambassador to the Republic of Korea, in her closing remarks said, both countries’ businesses need to participate more in trade partnership and collaboration.

Professor Atiqul Islam, Vice-Chancellor of NSU in his vote of thanks mentioned NSU’s interest to make relevant input in policy making regarding Korean and Bangladesh relationship.  Former Foreign Secretary and Senior Fellow of SIPG, NSU Ambassador, Shahidul Haque moderated the discussion.