Bangladesh and South Korea have agreed to establish a joint working group to identify priority sectors and strengthen trade, investment and private-sector cooperation following discussions on a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).
The decision was reached at a meeting in Seoul between Finance Minister Amir Khosru Mahmud Chowdhury and South Korean Trade Minister Park Jung-sung, according to a finance ministry statement.
The proposed group will include government and business representatives and work on identifying investment opportunities, necessary reforms and ways to improve the business environment, including through public-private partnerships (PPPs).
Amir Khosru said the CEPA discussions had opened an opportunity to expand bilateral economic ties beyond the traditional textile and readymade garment sectors towards technology-driven industries.
Potential areas of cooperation include electronics and semiconductors, shipbuilding, renewable energy, artificial intelligence, digital industries, pharmaceuticals, medical devices, agro-processing, logistics and advanced manufacturing.
During the visit, the Bangladesh delegation also met representatives of Hyundai Glovis, Hanwha Ocean and Samsung Electronics to explore cooperation in logistics, ports, shipbuilding, maritime infrastructure, electronics manufacturing, AI and workforce development.
Hanwha Ocean proposed beginning cooperation with ship repair, maintenance and retrofitting before moving towards higher-value shipbuilding activities.
