By Kayla Lee

President Yoon Suk-yeol, who is in New York to attend the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly, held his first summit with Sri Lankan President Ranil Wickremesinghe on the afternoon of September 18.
 

During the meeting, President Yoon requested Sri Lanka's support for the 2030 Busan World Expo and exchanged views on the development of bilateral relations.

President Yoon said that he looks forward to working with Sri Lanka, a key partner in Korea's development cooperation, in areas such as development cooperation, labor, climate change response, and trade and investment with the aim of a long-term partnership. 

In particular, President Yoon said that he would like to continue to identify cooperation projects that contribute to the creation of youth jobs, such as the Korea-Sri Lanka Central Vocational Training Institute.

President Wickremesinghe said that Sri Lankans trained in Korea are working in his country as highly skilled and advanced laborers, and he hopes to promote the 'Trade and Investment Cooperation Agreement' with Korea to facilitate more active bilateral trade and investment.

President Wickremesinghe also expressed his appreciation for the support of the Republic of Korea to Sri Lanka and hoped to expand cooperation with the Republic of Korea in areas such as ICT, trade, labor, regional development, and cultural exchange. President Wickremesinghe also expressed his hope that more Korean companies would be interested in investing in Sri Lanka in the future.

The two leaders also decided to conclude the 'Korea-Sri Lanka Climate Change Cooperation Agreement', which is currently under consultation, as soon as possible, and used the meeting as an opportunity to further enhance bilateral exchanges and continue to identify cooperative projects that will benefit both economies.