S. Korea to help promote job creation, investment opportunities in Sri Lanka

The South Korean Government will support to promote employment generation, vocational training and investment opportunities, said Park Byeong-seug, the Speaker of the National Assembly of South Korea.

He made these remarks when he met President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat, yesterday (January 20).

Mr. Park Byeong-seug is the Speaker of the 21st National Assembly of the Republic of Korea.

There is ample scope for investment opportunities in Sri Lanka due to its strategic location in the region, the President said and requested Mr. Park to encourage leading Korean companies to explore investment opportunities. 

Nearly 22,000 Sri Lankans are employed in South Korea. In 2019, they collectively remitted approximately $520 million back to the country. The contribution of remittances from the Sri Lankan migrant workers in South Korea was 7.75% of the total foreign remittances, equivalent to 0.62% of Sri Lanka’s total GDP.

In year 2019, South Korea allocated 3,600 employment opportunities to Sri Lankan migrants. That allocation decreased to just 500 in 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Since then, approximately 400 Sri Lankans have already secured employment in South Korea and are looking forward to traveling. After a lapse of 20 months, the first batch of 33 Sri Lankan migrants arrived in South Korea last month.

Mr. Park told the President that steps would be taken to fulfil the request made to increase the quota provided for employment for Sri Lankans in South Korea.
 
The South Korean Speaker also agreed to provide assistance to enhance vocational training opportunities in Sri Lanka and further stated that he would be willing to provide assistance to meet the present needs of the country.

Member of the National Assembly Jung Pilmo, Korean Ambassador Jeong Woonjin, Foreign Minister Prof. G.L. Peiris, Secretary to the President Gamini Senarath and Foreign Secretary Admiral Prof. Jayanath Colombage also attended the discussion.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa, during the meeting with the South Korean National Assembly Speaker, has requested for an increase in the number of employment opportunities allocated for Sri Lanka.

The discussion took place at the Temple Trees on yesterday, the Prime Minister’s Office said in a statement.

The Korean Speaker responded positively to the request, stating, “I’m pleased that young, talented Sri Lankan workers have contributed to income growth of both our countries.”

Mr. Park thanked the Sri Lankan Premier for supporting the vaccination of the South Korean community in Sri Lanka and for including the Korean language as a foreign language in the Advance Level curriculum. 

The Sri Lankan delegation also requested South Korea for support with vocational training programs, noting Sri Lanka’s highly-skilled human resources and a workforce with good IT knowledge. Responding positively, Mr. Park said Sri Lanka’s young workforce with good English knowledge, together with South Korea’s technological capabilities can open up collaboration possibilities in the areas of education and vocational training. 

In other areas of discussion, PM Rajapaksa has requested South Korea to encourage more Korean investments in Sri Lanka, pointing out that, at one time, South Korea was among the countries that had the most investments in Sri Lanka.

Speaker Park also suggested that the two countries explore cooperation in the areas of climate change and renewable energy resources.

This year, Sri Lanka and South Korea are celebrating 45 years of establishing diplomatic relations. Speaking about the many years of close cooperation between the two countries, Speaker Park said, “I hope this visit will be a catalyst for a new chapter of prosperity.”