The Bangladesh-Korea EPA negotiation launching ceremony was held in Seoul, the capital of South Korea, on Thursday to start the discussions for the Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries. In the event, Commerce Adviser Sk. Bashir Uddin and South Korean Minister for Trade Inkyo Cheong officially announced the inception of the negotiations for signing an Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA). Read: Bangladesh, South Korea eye stronger ties through bilateral trade and investment Besides, a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) on the development of trade and investment Framework was signed between the two countries in the function as an initial step for signing the EPA. Commerce Secretary Selim Uddin and South Korean Deputy Minister for Trade Jongwon Park signed the MoU on behalf of their respective sides, said a PID handout.

Bangladeshi dance team ‘Turongomi Repertory Dance Theatre’ is going to take part at the ‘Daegu Colorful Festival 2022’ in Korea from July 8-11. Turongomi, under the leadership of dance artist Pooja Sengupta, is the first ever Bangladeshi dance team to receive an invitation for Daegu Colorful Festival, said a press release on Monday. The festival is one of the largest dance parades in the world, organized by The Government of Korea. In a formal letter to Pooja Sengupta, Artistic Director of Turongomi, the organisers expressed that Turongomi’s participation will create a greater platform for popularizing Bangladeshi dance and culture in Korea. The organisers also congratulated Turongomi for popularizing Bangladeshi dance in Asia. The ten-member delegation of Turongomi will fly to Seoul on July 5 and will present two of their popular productions ‘Panchforon: The Essence of Bangladesh’ and ‘Nondini: The Savior of the World’ conceptualized, designed, choreographed and directed by Pooja Sengupta. Read: Azmeer Hossain's 'The Beckoning Horizon' goes on at Edge Gallery Recently Pooja represented Bangladesh at the SDG (Sustainable Development Goals) UNESCO Resili-Art Festival in Manila, Philippines in April this year. The participation was organized and sponsored by UNESCO, ITI and Government of Philippines. Pooja Sengupta received the Noorul Quader Entrepreneur award in 2018 for establishing Turongomi. Meanwhile, Turongomi is also taking part at the ongoing ‘Padma Bridge Inauguration Week’ programs at home by staging ‘Chiyanobboi -96’ at the Padma bridge celebration stage in Madaripur on Tuesday and at the Sohrawardy Uddyan on Wednesday. So far, Turongomi has attended the 2014 Bangkok IF Festival, 2017 Vietnam International Dance Festival, The Delhi International Arts Festival DIAF 2017, The Philippine International Dance Xchange 2018-22, The Silk Road Expo: Dunhuang Conference China 2018 by Beijing Dance Academy, The 2018 St Petersburg State University conference on dance education in Russia, Pooja Sengupta’s speech at the grand general assembly of International Dance Council at the UNESCO headquarters in Paris, France (The first Bangladeshi Artist to deliver speech at the UNESCO), The SDG Resili-Art by UNESCO in Manila 2022. Turongomi School of dance, a sister concern of Turongomi Repertory Dance Theatre became a member of the International Dance Council of UNESCO along with Pooja Sengupta herself, in 2019.

Some 92 Bangladeshi workers left for South Korea from Dhaka on Wednesday by chartered flights operated by a Korean air company. It was the first batch of Bangladesh expatriate workers going to Korea this year, said a South Korean Embassy press release. The South Korean Government suspended recruitment of foreign workers in March 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read:North Korea fires suspected ballistic missile into sea It resumed receiving the expatriates from last month. After the resumption, so far, a total of 203 Bangladesh expatriate workers have traveled to Korea. In December, 111 Bangladesh workers were admitted to Korea. Among 92 workers who were admitted this time, 44 workers were newly employed while the rest of them were re-entry workers. Korea has been admitting medium and low-skilled foreign workers from 16 countries including Bangladesh through the EPS (Employment Permit System) program. Due to the unprecedented and prolonged COVID-19 pandemic, however, the Korean government suspended receiving EPS workers. Accommodating continuous requests from the sending countries as well as from the employers, the Korean government decided to lift the suspension from November last year in a limited scope and phased manner with strict COVID-19 protective measures including quarantines. South Korean Ambassador Lee Jang-keun, stressed that Bangladesh EPS workers have played a crucial role in the Korea-Bangladesh relations contributing not only to the economic development of Bangladesh but also to the supply of labor force to Korean industry. Read: Bilateral trade with South Korea to reach a record high this year He welcomed the resumption of receiving Bangladesh workers and hoped that Korea would be able to accommodate more EPS workers from Bangladesh in the coming years. So far, more than 20,000 Bangladesh workers have been dispatched to Korea through the EPS system. According to the Bangladesh Bank, the remittance inflow from the Bangladesh workers in Korea amounted to 209.16 million US dollars in FY 2020/21 which made Korea the thirteenth major source of expatriate workers’ remittance. Korea ranked the 12th in FY 2019/20 with 177.84 million US dollars. The inflow of remittance from Korea has been growing fast in recent years from 80.65 million US dollars in FY 2016/17 to 96.29 million US dollars in FY 2017/18 and 112.51 US dollars in FY 2018/19.

The bilateral trade volume between South Korea and Bangladesh is expected to reach a record high this year. Between January and November this year, the trade volume, according to the statistics by the Korea Trade Association, recorded 2.014 billion US dollars, 54.6% increase from the same period of last year which was 1.303 billion US dollars, said a South Korean Embassy release on Thursday. Bangladesh’s export to South Korea increased by 35.8% with $498 million from $393 million in 2020 while Korea’s export to Bangladesh rose by 61.9% with $1.51 billion from $1.033 billion in 2020. Bilateral trade has been stagnant at the level below $1.6 billion for almost a decade after it peaked at $1.872 billion in 2011. Bangladesh’s export to Korea, which reached over $100 million in 2007 and $200 million in 2011, remained stagnant after it reached over $300 million in 2013. Despite the Covid-19 pandemic, Bangladesh’s export to Korea, however, crossed over $400 million in 2019 and recorded $393 million in 2020. It is expected to go over $500 million by the end of this year. The main export items of Bangladesh to Korea include garments, sports and leisure items and bronze scraps. Garment exports, which accounts for 81 per cent of total export to Korea, increased by 32.4 per cent from the previous year with $442 million, while sports and leisure items skyrocketed by 92 per cent with $303 million. Export of bronze scrap rose by 175 per cent with $9.14 million. Korea’s export to Bangladesh which peaked in 2011 with $1.63 billion has decreased to approximately $1.2 billion for many years and further deepened to $1.03 billion in 2020. It might even be possible to surpass the level of 2011 by the end of this year. Major export items of Korea to Bangladesh are machinery, petrochemical products, steel and pesticides. Export of machinery rose by 107 per cent to $297 million which reflects the continued growth of Bangladesh’s manufacturing sector. Petrochemical products increased by 64.2 per cent with $279 million. Steel export grew by 45.7 per cent with $190 million and pesticides by 68 per cent with $78 million. South Korean ambassador Lee Jang-keun said that this year will mark a momentous turning point in the bilateral trade between the two countries overcoming the challenges of the COVID-19 pandemic and expect the bilateral cooperation will be further strengthened in the coming years. He hoped that the Bangladesh business sector would take advantage of the preferential trade policy of Korea to Bangladesh which provides duty and quota free access to the Korean market by 95 per cent of the product since 2008.

Japan and South Korea stormed into the final of the 6th edition of the Hero Men’s Asian Champions Trophy 2021, shocking joint defending champions India and Pakistan in nerve shattering semifinals at the Maulana Bhashani National Stadium here on Tuesday. South Korea will play Japan in the final on Wednesday at 6 pm while two traditional subcontinental rivals India and Pakistan will meet each other in the 3rd place deciding match earlier at 3:30 pm at the same venue. The round robin match between the finalists had ended in an exciting 3-3 draw, while India beat Pakistan 3-1 when they met in the group phase.  In the day’s first semifinal, South Korea eliminated former World and Olympics Champions Pakistan 6-5 in an 11-goal thriller, featuring four goals by Jang Jong Hyun. Korea and Pakistan had qualified for the semifinals in 2nd and 3rd slots respectively with only one win, against hosts Bangladesh. Read: Both semis of Asian Champions Trophy Hockey Tuesday In the day’s 2nd semi, India, the Olympics bronze medalists and only unbeaten team in the ongoing meet, made their exit from the prestigious Asian meet after suffering their first defeat losing to Japan 5-3 in Tuesday’s second semifinal. With the day’s well-merited victory, Japan not only qualified for the final of the prestigious meet for the first time since 2013 with their first victory against India after suffering 17 consecutive defeats, but also took sweet revenge for a 6-0 drubbing in the league stage of this year’s meet.    In the keenly contested first semis, captain Umar Bhutta put Pakistan ahead in the very 3rd minute with a spectacular field goal (1-0) while Jang Jong Hyun leveled the margin for Korea in the 11th minute from penalty stroke (1-1) In the following minute, Jang Jong Hyun put Korea ahead from behind scoring his 2nd goal, also from a penalty stoke to lead the first quarter (2-1) . Korea got penalty stroke when Shakil Butt of Pakistani pushed a Korean player inside the D area. Junaid Manzoor of Pakistan neutralized the match in the 22nd minute tapping ball home (2-2). Jang Jong Hyun of Korea completed hat-trick in the 24th minute from penalty corner (3-2).  Afroz again leveled Pakistan margin in the 29th minute by a field goal after playing discipline game (3-3) while Jihun Yang of Korea again neutralized the match from a penalty corner in the dying moment of the 2nd quarter (4-3) . Junwoo Jeong further sounded the Korean margin in the dying moment of the 3rd quarter by a field goal utilizing a lapse of Pakistani defender Mubashar Ali (5-3).  Mubashar Ali reduced the Pakistan margin in the 47th minute by a penalty corner (5-4). The match turned into an exciting stage when Mubashar Ali leveled the margin in the 51st minute converting another penalty corner (5-5).  But lady luck finally smiled on Korea when their hattrick maker Jang Jong Hyun hit the match-winner scoring his 4th goal in the 55th minute (6-5) to the frustration of former World and Olympics champions Pakistan.  Jang was adjudged the man of the match.  Read: Asian Champions Trophy Hockey: Pakistan play 3-3 draw with Korea Besides, Korean goalie Jaehyeon Kim also deserved appreciation for foiling a good number of Pakistani attempts. In the second semi, Japan took advantage of a fast start, quickly racing to a 2-0 lead in the first quarter. Although India quickly clawed a goal back in the second quarter, Japan earned a penalty just before half-time that Kirishita converted to restore the 2-goal advantage.  The third quarter proved fatal for India, as Japan again came flying out of the blocks and scored twice, through Kosei Kawabe and then Ooka.  Although the Indians tried to mount a brave comeback in the final quarter, it was never going to be enough, except for restoring some pride to the scoresheet, as the game ended 5-3 to Japan.   

Bangladesh and South Korea have signed a loan agreement to provide US$ 100 million in concessional loan from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF) to help economic recovery of Bangladesh hit by the pandemic. EDCF is Korea's development financing programme for assisting the socio-economic development of developing countries. Read:Denmark, PPPA sign MoU to enhance green infrastructure cooperation Md Shahriar Kader Siddiky, additional secretary to the Economic Relations Division (ERD) and Kim Tae soo, executive director of Export-Import Bank of Korea, signed the deal on behalf of their respective sides on Monday. This amount will be disbursed within this month by the Korea Exim Bank. The loan interest rate is 0.05% per annum and the maturity period is 40 years including a grace period of 15 years. The Republic of Korea has already provided US$ 50 million of EDCF loan as budgetary support in December 2020 to help Bangladesh’s efforts for fighting the COVID-19 pandemic. It is the second provision of this type of concessional loan. It will be the first EDCF loan to be implemented under the new EDCF Framework Agreement for the years 2021 through 2025 which was signed between the two governments on 24 October 2021. According to the agreement, the Korean government will provide up to 700 million USD of concessional loans to the government of Bangladesh for the five-year period. Read:Maritime Connectivity: Ranong port, Chittagong Port authorities sign MoU The new concessional loan of US$ 100 million will be used to implement several projects aimed at advancing the public finance management system and improving small and medium-sized businesses struggling from the repercussions of the pandemic. Bangladesh is the second largest recipient of the EDCF loans worldwide in aggregate amount. So far, the Republic of Korea has funded 24 development projects of Bangladesh with a total amount of US$ 1.2 billion through the EDCF.

Coming from behind, South Korea drew 2-2 with India in the opening match of the Hero Men's Asian Champions Trophy Hockey 2021 that began on Tuesday (Dec 14) at the Maulana Bhashani National Stadium here. In the day's opener, India took an early lead in the very 4th minute as Lalit Upadhyay received the ball in space and smashed it into the goal (1-0). Read:Hockey: Asian Champions Trophy begins Tuesday Besides the goal, India launched a series of attacks, but the first half ended 1-0. South Korea also made a few attempts, but the Indians were brilliant in defence. India began the second half as well with a bang, earning a number of penalty corners with Harmanpreet Singh converting one to make it 2-0 in the 33rd minute. With four minutes left in the third quarter, South Korea finally earned their first penalty corner of the match. Harmanpreet Singh, defending the goal, moved a second earlier than the injection, and he was moved out of the goal. Taking advantage, Jonghyun Jang of Korea reduced the margin converting the penalty corner (2-1). Read:Men’s Hockey: Bangladesh lose to Pakistan in preparatory match The South Koreans then came flying out of the blocks in the fourth and final quarter and leveled the margin with Kim Sung Hyun finishing from an acute angle to the frustration of India (2-2). India responded on the offensive, attacking in droves and pinning the Koreans back. Harmanpreet Singh did put one in the net from a penalty corner but on review, it was seen that the shot was off-target and was deflected in off the head of a Korean defender. Finally, India could not make their dominance count and settled for a 2-2 draw.

Universities in Bangladesh will work to build capacities among the youth  for entrepreneurship and business innovation in partnership with the Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA). Under the project universities will be able to set a link of a model curriculum through which students will get knowledge to be entrepreneurs and find out need-based business modules to build as their career. The Innovation, Creativity and Entrepreneurship (ICE) centre of Dhaka University (DU) organized a consultation conference at Nabab Ali Chowdhury Senate Bhaban on Tuesday. Md. Rashedur Rahman, associate professor and founding executive director of ICE, gave a presentation about the journey of the project. Prof Md Akhtaruzzaman, Vice-Chancellor of DU and chairman of ICE, Young-Ah Doh, country director of KOICA, Derik Kim, project manager of the project management consortium, Heakyung Bae, consultant of the project, Prof Muhammad Anisuzzaman Talukder of Bangladesh University of Engineering and Technology, Prof  Khondoker Bazlul Hoque, vice chairman of ICE, among others, spoke on the occasion. Also read: KOICA for enhancing treatment of neurodevelopmental disabilities for children in Bangladesh Teachers from universities of Chittagong, Rajshahi, Shahjalal and Khulna joined the program using virtual platform while teachers and more than 700 students of DU, representatives from banks and financial institutions attended the program physically. An 11-member team of experts of the project management consortium (PMC) comprising Korea Polytechnic University (KPU) and Korea Productivity Center (KPC) is visiting Dhaka to conduct “Front-end Survey” and develop “Action Plan” with insights, experience and opinions of relevant stakeholders as part of the project from November 5-18, 2021 are also attending the program and sharing their survey experience. Prof Akhtaruzzaman said that the 17th goal of the SDGs in collaboration between Korea and Bangladesh will be strengthened. He emphasized implementation and revitalized the global partnership for sustainable development and hoped that this is just the beginning which will be continuing to make it more viable. Young -Ah Doh, Country Director, KOICA said that this is the first consultation aimed to create an environment to promote youth entrepreneurship in Bangladesh. She said universities can play a great role in entrepreneurship by sharing opinions, exchanging ideas and creating action plans. Also read: KOICA helps Bangladesh strengthen road maintenance, management system Derik Kim expressed his hope that this project will be able to bring all the stakeholder groups from govt., industry, academia and others in one platform to develop an effective entrepreneurship ecosystem in Bangladesh. The project under the Ministry of Education will be implemented by the University Grant Commission (UGC) and DU in partnership with the KOICA, other leading public universities, and relevant stakeholders.  The overall objective of the project is to improve the environment for potential youth entrepreneurs through the capacity building of Bangladeshi universities on entrepreneurship education. Some of the activities under the project include: curriculum development on entrepreneurship education; capacity development of faculties, professionals, and students; advocacy and awareness initiatives; entrepreneurial roadmap through research, and infrastructural development. "Capacity Building of Universities in Bangladesh to Promote Youth Entrepreneurship" under the Government-to-Government (G2G) modality has been already signed between the Government of Bangladesh and South Korean Government on January 31, 2021.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun has said his country wants to take the “strong relations” with Bangladesh to a new height engaging deeply in every potential area giving much focus on the young generation in terms of cooperation and collaboration. “The Golden Jubilee of diplomatic relations in 2023 would be a significant momentum for the two countries to take the strong ties to a new height,” he said, mentioning that the two countries now need to diversify the areas of cooperation. He was delivering the keynote address at a webinar hosted by the Cosmos Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the Cosmos Group, at its Ambassadors’ Lecture Series Dialogue premiered on Thursday. The topic for discussion was "Bangladesh-South Korea Relations: Prognosis for the Future." Enayetullah Khan, Chairman of the Cosmos Foundation, earlier made the inaugural remarks.

South Korean Ambassador to Bangladesh Lee Jang-keun on Thursday visited the construction site of the new specialized hospital under Bangabandhu Sheikh Mujib Medical University (BSMMU) and said it will serve as a symbol of close relationship between Bangladesh and Korea. "This Hospital will be the first specialized hospital in Bangladesh for the treatment of critical patients and serve as a symbol of our close relationship and ever-strengthening friendship," he said. During his visit to the site, Ambassador Lee said it is the largest project in medical area with Korea’s support. Vice-Chancellor of BSMMU Dr. Md. Sharfuddin Ahmed, Additional Secretary of the Ministry of Health Md. Shahadat Hossain, Chairman and Director of the Project of BSMMU Md. Zulfiqur Rahman Khan and other staff of Hyundai Development Corporation, Sunjin Engineering and Samsung C&T were present. Also read: Chevron provides Covid-19 support to community hospitals