Bangladesh and South Korea held the 4th round of Foreign Office Consultations (FOC) in Seoul on Tuesday and agreed to deepen ties and explore strategic partnership between the two countries.
The Bangladesh delegation was led by Ambassador Dr Md Nazrul Islam, Secretary (Bilateral–East and West) of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, while the Korean delegation was headed by Park Yoonjoo, 1st Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of South Korea.
Both countries stressed the need for high-level visits at the Head of State or government level, stating that such exchanges at a mutually convenient time would be crucial to upgrading Bangladesh–South Korea relations to a strategic partnership.
The consultations were held in a warm and cordial atmosphere, marked by constructive and forward-looking discussions covering the full spectrum of bilateral relations.
Issues discussed included political and economic cooperation, trade and investment, human resources development under the Employment Permit System (EPS), infrastructure development, relocation of Korean electronics and semiconductor production plants, energy cooperation, security and the situation of the Forcibly Displaced Myanmar Nationals (Rohingyas).
Both sides also exchanged views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
The delegations reviewed progress since the 3rd round of consultations held in March 2022 in Dhaka, and identified new avenues of cooperation, particularly in science and technology, artificial intelligence, energy transition, fisheries, biotechnology, climate change, agricultural mechanization and modernisation of marine ports and shipyards.