The Ministry of Foreign Affairs announced on January 23 that Lee Jeong-Kyu, the special envoy of the foreign minister, officially visited Nepal and Bangladesh to discuss cooperation plans.
According to the Ministry, the special envoy visited Nepal from January 20 to 22, where he met with Deputy Prime Minister and Finance Minister Bishnu Prasad Poudel, Foreign Secretary Amrit Bahadur Rai, and Minister for Labor, Employment and Social Security Sharat Singh Bhandari.
Both sides agreed to strengthen cooperation in various fields, including the economy, development cooperation, employment, and tourism, and to diversify trade, investment, and industrial cooperation. Accordingly, Nepal committed to improving the investment environment and conditions for Korean companies.
The special envoy, Lee Jeong-Kyu, then visited Bangladesh from January 22 to 23, where he met with Foreign Secretary Jashim Uddin and the Secretary of the Economic Relations Division, Ministry of Finance, Shahriar Kader Siddiky.
Envoy Lee expressed his intention to continue cooperation with the government. He explained the difficulties faced by Korean companies operating in Bangladesh and requested a prompt resolution of these issues.
Both sides agreed to work toward incorporating practical cooperation measures into the first official negotiations for the economic partnership agreement, scheduled for the first half of this year. Additionally, the special envoy sought cooperation to allow Korean companies to participate in large-scale infrastructure projects in Bangladesh.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs explained that the visit aimed to demonstrate South Korea’s commitment to strengthening high-level exchanges and practical cooperation with major countries in Southwest Asia.