Nov 19, Colombo: Prime Minister Dinesh Gunawardena urged Korea to recommence the temporarily halted joint projects in Sri Lanka and to explore possibility of investing in more areas of development such as agriculture, fisheries and export crop industries.

Speaking to a high-level delegation headed by the Special Envoy of the Minister of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea, Han Dongman who called on him at the Prime Minister’s Office in Parliament, the Premier thanked Korea for the development assistance and the generous help given to Sri Lanka to overcome the recent economic crisis.

He briefed the delegation on the village level food drive launched by the government and asked Korea to explore possibility of providing seeds and other agricultural inputs.

The Prime Minister called on Korean business houses to invest in new areas such as solar power, wind power and other alternative energy resources as well as agriculture and fisheries sectors.

Ambassador Dongman said Korean development agency KOICA will increase its assistance and development cooperation assistance. He also said further assistance will be extended for youth skills development in information technology and added that virtual teaching facilities could be extended to existing IT training centers by Korean IT experts.

The Prime Minister said the government would enact necessary reforms to create an investor-friendly environment.

The delegation included Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Santush Wonjin Jeong, Lim Miyeon, Deputy Head of Mission, KOICA Country Director, Kim Myungjin, Country Director of EXIM Bank Korea, Ha Wonsuk, Country Director of KOTRA, Son Joo Hong, EPS Country Director Lee Joo Chul and Senior Manager of Foreign Ministry, Lee Eunyoung, Senior Manager, Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Republic of Korea. Secretary to the Prime Minister, Anura Dissanayake also took part in the discussion.