“Exchanges rapidly grow between Korea and Bangladesh”

Bangladesh Ambassador Md. Enamul Kabir (Photo: Kim Nam-ju)

Interview with Bangladesh Ambassador to Korea 

The 40th anniversary of Korea –Bangladesh diplomatic relations calls for a special occasion. Thus, the two countries mutually decided to name 2013 “Korea-Bangladesh Friendship Year.”

In an interview with The AsiaN, Bangladesh Ambassador Md. Enamul Kabir on February 6th, Kabir stated, “Even though Bangladesh became independent from Pakistan in 1971, Bangladesh was one of the first countries of South Asia to establish relations with the Republic of Korea. To honor the special relations between Bangladesh and Korea, we plan to organize a large-scale celebration during our annual Independence Day this March 26.”

During the 40 years of bilateral relations, trade, investments, technical and industrial tie-ups and academic exchange have taken place. Ambassador Kabir began his term as ambassador to Korea in August 2012.

“One of my first contacts with Koreans was when I was Bangladesh Ambassador to Vietnam. Our embassy was located in a building built by the Korean company, Daewoo. The Korean embassy and several other embassies were also located in the same building.” Kabir mentioned.

“Korea is geographically a very small country and an excellent example of how hard work and diligence can build a country. Even though Korea does not have many resources or much land, the Korean people are very talented and diligent and I believe this has brought Korea to where it stands today.” said Kabir.

He also said, “Bangladesh is a very promising country, its economy steadily growing with an annual growth of 5 to 6 percent for the last 20 years. We can’t call our country poor anymore. It’s developing fast. Also, women’s advancement and empowerment is a driving factor in our country’s development. Now, the number of girls at the university outweighs the boys and they are performing better.”

Hyundai Engineering and Construction has built Bangladesh’s longest bridge, Bangabandhu Multi-purpose Bridge (4.8km), which connects the country’s east and west regions. And, in a few months, Bangladesh will begin constructing the Padma Bridge, which will be a two level 6.15km bridge across the Padma river connecting the south-west of the country to the northern and eastern regions. Kabir hopes that Korean companies will take interest in this project.

Kabir plans to work to further improve economic relations between the two countries by meeting Koreans in the political and business sectors. He believes that trade between the two countries can be doubled and tripled.

About 100 to 200 people are coming from Bangladesh to work in Korea each month and many Korean companies are investing in Bangladesh.

Bangladesh has about 1 million students studying abroad in countries such as the United States, Canada, England, France, Germany, Australia, India, Japan and Korea. Many Bangladeshi students come to Korea to study electronics.

Kabir hopes that more Koreans will come and enjoy the beautiful country of Bangladesh. He recommends places like Cox’s Bazar Beach, one of the world’s longest natural sandy sea beaches, the Sundarbans Forest, and the Buddhist relics in Bandarban.

Md. Enamul Kabir received his bachelor’s and master’s degree in economics at the University of Dhaka and entered the ministry of foreign affairs in 1981 and has served as the ambassador to Bhutan, France, Romania, Portugal and Vietnam. He was also the PD of Bangladesh to UNESCO in Paris.