South Korea has been offering technical assistance to improve Bangladesh capacity in the utilization of satellites.

South Korea has been providing technical support to the Bangladesh Meteorological Department (BMD) to enhance weather forecasting and climate monitoring, particularly addressing the risk associated with climate-related hazards effectively in the Bangladesh region.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun met Director of Bangladesh Meteorological Department Shamsuddin Ahmed and Senior Secretary of the Ministry of Defence Dr Abu Hena Mostofa Kamal on February 1and 4 respectively, and discussed details on the current and future cooperation programs between Bangladesh and Korea.

South Korea has initiated the project entitled “Support of the GEO-KOMPSAT-2A (GK-2A) Receiving and Analysis System in Bangladesh” through the Korea Meteorological Administration (KMA) to BMD.

Also read: Webinar highlights stronger Dhaka-Seoul trade ties, FTA

The project is scheduled to be completed by 2021, said the Korean Embassy in Dhaka.

The incurred budget of support project is US$ 2.5 million.

The satellite equipment is expected to be installed by the experts of Korea, and accordingly, the experts of Korea are expected to be dispatched to Bangladesh during the first half of this year.

Through this project, BMD will receive meteorological and environmental data and information collected by GK-2A Satellite, a Korea-owned geostationary meteorological satellite.

Also read: Dhaka seeks Seoul's cooperation for return of stranded Bangladeshis

BMD will receive sufficient training to analyze satellite data and information utilizing weather forecasting, climate monitoring as well as early warnings for meteorological disaster management.

The training program in Korea for Bangladeshi officials and experts working in the area of weather forecasting will also be processed throughout the coming years.