1. Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se met with Foreign Minister Mangala Samaraweera of Sri Lanka at the Foreign Ministry, Seoul, on March 11. In the meeting, the two top diplomats exchanged views on the situations on the Korean Peninsula and in South Asia as well as ways to step up substantive cooperation between the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka across the board, including political affairs, economy, trade, employment, development cooperation and culture.

° The official visit of Foreign Minister Samaraweera to the ROK marked the first of its kind by a Sri Lankan Foreign Minister since the launch of the new government in Sri Lanka in January 2015. In particular, Minister of Foreign Employment Thalatha Atukorale accompanied the Foreign Minister to the ROK, manifesting the Sri Lankan government’s interest in increasing labor cooperation with the ROK.

2. The two Ministers agreed to take the opportunity of Minister Samaraweera’s official visit to the ROK, which came after the bilateral foreign ministerial meeting held in September 2015 on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly session, to further strengthen the momentum for advancing the bilateral relations.

3. Minister Yun explained that in response to North Korea’s recent nuclear test and launch of a long-range missile, more than 100 countries had issued statements condemning North Korea over the provocations. He added that the unprecedentedly strongest resolution had been adopted by the UN Security Council in early March to sanction North Korea for its bad behavior, and that many countries had started to implement the resolution.

° In response, Minister Samaraweera, expressing deep concern over North Korea’s nuclear test and launch of a long-range missile, mentioned that Sri Lanka had urged North Korea to fulfill its international obligations, and that Sri Lanka will continue to strongly support the ROK government’s position and cooperate with it.

4. The two Ministers agreed to further increase cooperation in such substantive fields as economy, trade, infrastructure and employment in a mutually beneficial manner.

° Minister Yun asked the Sri Lankan government to support bids of Korean companies with outstanding information technology to take part in the megapolis development project that the Sri Lankan government is working on.

° In response, Minister Samaraweera, commending the global competitiveness of Korean companies in the construction of smart cities, mentioned that the Sri Lankan government will cooperate with keen interest.

5. Minister Samaraweera, voicing hope that the ROK will share with Sri Lanka its experiences in economic development, including through the Saemaul Undong (new community movement), asked for increased development aid from the ROK. Minister Yun responded that the ROK will continue to contribute to Sri Lanka’s sustainable development by rendering assistance Sri Lanka, one of the ROK’s major partners for official development assistance, in such sectors as education and healthcare.

° The two Ministers agreed to work together for an early completion of the procedure for the conclusion of a bilateral framework agreement concerning loans from the Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), for which bilateral negotiations are currently under way.

6. Minister Yun noted with appreciation that under the ROK government’s Employment Permit System, a combined 42,000 Sri Lankans have so far worked in the ROK, contributing to the economic development of the two countries. In this regard, Minister of Foreign Employment Atukorale voiced hope that more opportunities will be offered to outstanding workforce of Sri Lanka to be dispatched to and work in the ROK.

7. The two Ministers agreed to work closely together to make a success of various cultural events that will be held to commemorate the 40th anniversary of the ROK-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations in 2017. They also agreed to seek a revision to the bilateral Cultural Cooperation Agreement in order to promote cultural exchanges between the two countries.

8. The two top diplomats agreed to work more closely together on the international stage and thereby to broaden the scope of the bilateral cooperation to include the global level.


* unofficial translation