1. On the occasion of the World Economic Forum (WEF) on ASEAN 2018 underway in Hanoi from September 11 to 13, Minister of Foreign Affairs Kang Kyung-wha paid a courtesy call on Prime Minister of the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka Ranil Wickremesinghe on September 12.

° Minister Kang, taking note of the smooth progress in the implementation of the full range of measures agreed upon by the Presidents of the Republic of Korea and Sri Lanka during the state visit to the former country in 2017 by President Maithripala Sirisena of the latter, voiced hope for close cooperation in various sectors, including political affairs, economy and people-to-people exchanges.

※ President of Sri Lanka Maithripala Sirisena paid a state visit to the ROK from November 28 to 30, 2017, to mark the 40^th anniversary of the establishment of the ROK-Sri Lanka diplomatic relations.

- Pursuant to the agreement reached during the state visit, the two countries held the second vice ministerial policy consultation in Colombo on June 7 and the first meeting of the director-general-level joint economic commission in the same city on June 28.

° Prime Minister Wickremesinghe, taking note of the ongoing momentum of high-level exchanges between the two countries, including the recent visit to the ROK by Speaker of the Parliament Karu Jayasuriya, suggested that the two countries continuously seek ways to step up bilateral cooperation through robust people-to-people exchanges.  

※ Speaker of the Sri Lankan Parliament Karu Jayasuriya visited the ROK from August 27 to 30 at the invitation of the ROK National Assembly.

2. In particular, Prime Minister Wickremesinghe voiced hope for increased cooperation with the ROK in diverse areas, including trade, investment, information and communications technology (ICT), development and employment. Meanwhile, Minister Kang asked for Sri Lanka's attention to the Korean enterprises operating in the country.

3. The two sides agreed to work closely together on regional and global issues, such as those regarding cooperation in the Indian Ocean as well as the resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue and the establishment of peace on the Korean Peninsula.