South Korean Consul General Vows To Further Strengthen Trade Relations With Pakistan

The South Korean Consul General in Karachi Kim Haksung Tuesday said the bilateral relations between Korea and Pakistan were moving towards turning point next year as both of countries would celebrate 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023

HYDERABAD, (UrduPoint / Pakistan Point News - 29th Nov, 2022 ) :The South Korean Consul General in Karachi Kim Haksung Tuesday said the bilateral relations between Korea and Pakistan were moving towards turning point next year as both of countries would celebrate 40th anniversary of diplomatic ties in 2023.

He said that despite good economic and business cooperation between South Korea and Pakistan, the trade volume was unfortunately far-off from their expectations. The trade volume between the two nations remained 1.3 billion Dollars last year, while the share of export volume of Korea to Pakistan was just 0.2 percent during the entire year, he said.

This he said while addressing international seminar titled "Pakistan-South Korea bilateral relations: A way forward", organized by Sindh University's Area Study Centre at the Institute of Sindhology, University of Sindh Jamshoro.

The seminar was chaired by Dean Faculty of Social Sciences University of Sindh Prof. Dr Hamadullah Kakepoto, while Director Area Study Centre Dr. Mukesh Kumar Khatwani, Director Institute of Sindhology Ghulam Murtaza Siyal, Department of International Relations University of Karachi Prof. Dr. Monis Ahmer, Majid Ali Noonari, Dr. Imran Noonari, Ghulam Murtaza Khoso, Prof. Dr. Shuja Ahmed Mahesar, Hansraj Hans, Dr. Naima Tabasum, Dr. Ishrat Abbasi, Dr Noreen Nazar Soomro and many others were present on the occasion.

The Consul General said that during his long diplomatic career until now, he had been doing his best for enhancing bilateral relations and friendly cooperation with mutual understanding and respect.

He said his diplomatic mission in Karachi will strive to promote friendly cooperation and mutual exchange between Korea and Pakistan. The vibrant and energetic metropolis at Arabian Sea was of great importance for him and his staff as Karachi was a centre of their attention, he said.

He opined that a diplomat must have a great interest in other cultures and a sense of solidarity and open-mindedness adding that it was meaningful for him to have dialogues with Pakistani university students.

He said South Korea is a highly advanced country and possessed successful story of economic development, prosperity and advancement in science and technology.

He stated that his country was the 10th largest economy in the world with a GDP of over 35,000 US dollars per capita last year and it remained the 8th largest trade country, exporting 645 billion US dollars, importing 481 billion dollars last year.

It because of the reflection of the dedication, hard work, commitment, vision and education passion", he said and added that education passion or fever was a driving force of Korea's economic success story.

He said with tremendous and heartbreaking economic prosperity, the South Korea had another great pride as it had become one of the cultural superpowers.

He said that he was sure that the Pakistani young generation must be fascinated by K-pop, K-drama, K-movie and other cultural attractions his country was offering.

He said the political relations between Pakistan and South Korea are excellent. At the global stage, both the countries are in good cooperation", Kim Haksung said and added that regarding the peace process on the Korean peninsula, Pakistani governments always stood for their country.

He said that Pakistan had a great demand and potential in its IT industry; therefore, Korea will have a good possibility of mutual cooperation in the IT industry between the two countries in the form of joint ventures.

More than 10,000 Pakistani people are now living and working in South Korea, he said and added that about 1500 Pakistani students are studying in Korea. Most of them are enrolled in masters or doctoral courses of business and engineering school of the world-class universities", he said and added that due to language barriers, the undergraduate Pakistani students did not seek admissions in the varsities because at the level, the medium of instruction was Korean language but the graduate courses are being offered in English language.

"Korea is a safe country especially for Pakistan's female students, our country is ideal place for academic achievements", he said.

The Dean Faculty of Social Sciences Professor Dr. Hamadullah Kakepoto said that Pakistan and South Korea were friendly countries, but as Korea had come a long way in the race of development as a result of pursuing higher education.

"Now Korea should come forward and announce scholarships for providing higher education to the Pakistani students, especially students of Sindh having humble financial background and lack of facilities, he emphasized.

He said that Pakistan was still a developing country, if Korea opened the doors of large-scale admissions to its educational institutions for the Pakistani youth, then he said he was sure Pakistan will emerge economically in the next 20 years.

Professor (Meritorious) of the Department of International Relations, University of Karachi Dr. Monis Ahmar said that Pakistan needed to learn from Korea. If the country focused on an 8-point agenda like the Korea including visionary leadership, planning, good governance, rule of law, excellent education and health care system, innovation, political stability and human and social development, the day was not far when Pakistan would join the ranks of developed countries.

The Director Area Study Center Dr. Mukesh Kumar Khatwani said that the Consulate of Korea in Karachi should start joint academic and research projects with the Area Study Center of the University of Sindh so that the youth of Sindh could have the best opportunities.

The seminar also featured two short videos on Korean culture, highlighting Korean history, music and dance.

Later, the Korean Consul General along with his delegation visited the Sindhology Museum and took deep interest in the cultural objects of Sindh.