Licensing of KEPZ
Iftekhar expects deluge of S Korean investment
Staff Correspondent
Foreign Affairs Adviser Iftekhar Ahmed yesterday said he expects a deluge of South Korean investment to flow into Bangladesh on the back of the recent licensing of Korean Export Processing Zone (KEPZ) here.On his return from a 5-day trip to Seoul, Iftekhar said the South Korean officials were 'very happy' with the government's decisions to give the operating license to the KEPZ last week. He said the KEPZ is expected to bring $1 billion in investments and create at least one lakh jobs directly and another two lakh indirectly. Korean investors also showed interest in investing in Bangladesh with the operationalisation of the KEPZ, he added. Talking to reporters at a briefing at the foreign ministry, the adviser said although South Korea wants to return thousands of undocumented workers to Bangladesh, he has asked Seoul to give those workers an advantage over other applicants due to their existing Korean language skills. He said he expects around 2500 Bangladeshi workers will go over to South Korea this year. Iftekhar said he visited Incheon City where Korea wants to build a 'Free Economic Zone'. Bangladeshi workers can fill in the massive demand for workers required to construct the Incheon Free Economic Zone, he added.
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