Prime Minister Tarique Rahman invited South Korea’s president to visit Bangladesh at a convenient time during a courtesy meeting with South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo. The meeting took place at 2:30 p.m. on Monday at the Cabinet Division in the Bangladesh Secretariat. The invitation came as Bangladesh and South Korea move toward signing a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, or CEPA, aimed at strengthening trade, investment and economic cooperation.

According to Deputy Press Secretary Shahadat Swadhin, Yeo briefed the prime minister on the proposed agreement at the start of the meeting. The South Korean minister said the deal, once effective, would expand bilateral trade and economic cooperation and significantly increase South Korean investment in Bangladesh. He said many Korean companies already operate successfully in Bangladesh and that more are interested in investing there.

Rahman invited Korean companies to invest in toys, electronics, telecommunications, automobiles, semiconductors and shipbuilding. He said South Korea could establish training centres in Bangladesh to provide training and language education for Bangladeshi workers for its shipbuilding industry. The government would take necessary measures if Korean companies seek to invest in Bangladesh’s shipbuilding sector, he said. Plans for a Bangladesh seminar involving Korean companies were also discussed.