Bangladesh and South Korea have signed a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in Dhaka, marking a major step toward strengthening bilateral trade and investment ahead of Bangladesh’s graduation from the Least Developed Country (LDC) category.
The agreement grants preferential market access to 97% of Bangladeshi goods entering South Korea, while 87% of South Korean products will receive similar access to the Bangladeshi market.
The agreement was announced by Commerce Minister Khandakar Abdul Muktadir and South Korean Trade Minister Han-Koo Yeo at a joint press conference in Dhaka. Both ministers said the CEPA would deepen economic cooperation, boost trade, and encourage greater investment between the two countries.
According to the Export Promotion Bureau (EPB), Bangladesh exported goods worth $421 million to South Korea in FY2025–26, a 9% decline from the previous fiscal year. Meanwhile, Bangladesh’s imports from South Korea reached $1.2 billion in FY2024–25, up 33% from $903 million a year earlier, while imports during the first half of FY2025–26 stood at $614 million, according to Bangladesh Bank.
The CEPA follows Bangladesh’s economic partnership agreement with Japan signed earlier this year and is expected to help maintain the country’s export competitiveness in the post-LDC era by expanding market access and attracting foreign investment.
