The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

South Korea has expressed its keen interest to invest in Bangladesh, particularly in power and energy sectors.

Visiting Korean Vice Minister of Commerce, Industry and Energy Dr Jae Hoon Lee expressed the interest when an 18-member Korean delegation, led by him, called on Adviser for Foreign Affairs Dr. Iftekhar Ahmed Chowdhury at his office yesterday.

The Foreign Adviser appreciated the Korean interest to invest in Bangladesh in different sectors. "Our bilateral cooperation with Korea is also expanding to other fields such as trade and manpower," he said. Bangladesh has so far received over 278 proposals for Korean investment. The government's decision to open the Korean Export Processing Zone will immensely assist this development," the Foreign Adviser observed.

Meanwhile, South Korea signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with Bangladesh to promote cooperation in power and energy sectors.

South Korean Vice-Minister Lee Jae Hoon and Energy Secretary of Bangladesh Mohammad Mohsin signed the agreement on behalf of their respective countries. The MoU said both the sides would promote cooperation in the field of energy, including power and gas on the basis of equally and mutual benefit.

The Korean Minister is leading delegation of a business consortium, which wants to invest about US$ 7 billion in different sectors, like power, gas and coal field development.

The consortium comprises the public and the private companies-the state-owned Korean Resources Corporation, Korean Electric Power Corporation, Daewoo, Luxon Global Energy and POSCO.

Earlier, the Luxon Global Energy signed a MoU with Bangladesh's Board of Investment to invest more than US$ 2 billion in 2005.

Energy Secretary Mohammad Mohsin told reporters that the MoU between Korea and Bangladesh was signed to explore cooperation in technical fields.

"Under the agreement, we may seek technical support from Korea as it is an experienced country," he said.