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Bangladesh State Minister for Foreign Affairs Humaiun Kobir held separate meetings with South Korea’s Deputy Minister for Trade Negotiations Hyejin Kwon and Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) Vice-President Doh Young-Ah in Seoul on Thursday.
The meetings focused on further strengthening Bangladesh-Republic of Korea cooperation in trade, investment, development cooperation and technology, among other areas.
During his meeting with Deputy Minister Kwon, the State Minister reiterated Bangladesh’s interest in further strengthening its longstanding cooperation with South Korea and appreciated the country’s role in Bangladesh’s economic transformation and industrial development.
He welcomed the successful conclusion of the Bangladesh-ROK Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in August 2026, expressing hope that it would help Bangladesh integrate more deeply into Korean and regional supply chains, particularly as the country transitions from LDC status.
He also expressed hope that the CEPA would be formally signed during the proposed visit of the President of the Republic of Korea to Bangladesh, following completion of the necessary domestic procedures.
Highlighting growing bilateral trade, Humaiun Kobir called for concrete measures to increase Korean imports of Bangladeshi goods and services and gradually reduce the trade imbalance.
He also requested the streamlining of food safety inspection and quarantine procedures for Bangladeshi agricultural, fishery and food products.
The State Minister sought South Korea’s support for Bangladesh’s accession to the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP) and invited greater Korean investment in Bangladesh.
He encouraged Korean conglomerates and small and medium-sized enterprises to explore investment opportunities through joint investment promotion initiatives and government-to-government facilitation.
Deputy Minister Kwon welcomed the progress in Bangladesh-South Korea economic relations and expressed Seoul’s interest in further expanding bilateral trade, investment and industrial cooperation, including through the CEPA framework.
At his meeting with KOICA Vice-President Doh Young-Ah, the State Minister expressed appreciation for KOICA’s longstanding contribution to Bangladesh’s socio-economic development through grant assistance, capacity building, technical cooperation and knowledge sharing.
He thanked KOICA for its US$39 million Saemaul Plus End Poverty Programme and sought further cooperation in water security and climate resilience, skills development, employment-oriented technical education and digital health.
Humaiun Kobir also expressed Bangladesh’s interest in moving the next phase of KOICA-Bangladesh cooperation towards larger-scale, integrated and transformative programmes in areas including digital transformation, artificial intelligence and digital public services.
He requested early concurrence from the Korean side on financing for Dhaka’s mass rapid transit (MRT) projects alongside the Asian Development Bank.
The KOICA Vice-President welcomed Bangladesh’s interest in expanding development cooperation and expressed readiness to explore new areas and programmes aligned with Bangladesh’s development priorities and Korea’s development cooperation experience.
The meetings reflected the shared commitment of Bangladesh and the Republic of Korea to further deepen their comprehensive partnership, particularly in trade, investment, industrial cooperation, technology transfer and development cooperation, based on mutual benefit and shared priorities.
