South Korea welcomes Bangladesh’s interest in stronger defence ties

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South Korea has welcomed Bangladesh’s interest in strengthening bilateral defence relations and expressed readiness to explore cooperation in areas including training, capacity-building and peacekeeping.

State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir held separate meetings with Korean First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs Park Yoon-joo and Vice Minister of National Defense Lee Doo-hee in Seoul on Friday.

During the meetings, both sides discussed political, economic and defence cooperation and reaffirmed their commitment to expanding bilateral ties.

Kobir conveyed Bangladesh’s readiness to deepen relations with South Korea and handed over Prime Minister Tarique Rahman’s invitation to President Lee Jae Myung to visit Bangladesh.

He also welcomed progress towards concluding the Bangladesh-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement and called for greater trade, investment and market access for Bangladeshi products.

Bangladesh also sought increased Korean investment in sectors including semiconductors, electronics, shipbuilding, ICT and technology-intensive industries, as well as cooperation in agriculture, logistics, digital transformation and skills development.

Kobir sought continued Korean support for climate resilience, infrastructure, technical education and digital technologies, along with assistance for the sustainable repatriation of Rohingyas to Myanmar.

In discussions with Vice Minister Lee, the two sides focused on defence cooperation, including specialised training, capacity-building, UN peacekeeping and defence industry cooperation.

Kobir requested expanded training opportunities for Bangladesh’s armed forces, police and civil defence personnel and encouraged South Korea to send military personnel to specialised courses offered by Bangladesh.

He also informed the Korean side that Bangladesh is establishing a defence industrial zone and invited Korean investment and cooperation in the initiative.