Many Koreans hopeful of visiting SL once COVID is contained: Envoy

Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, Woonjin Jeong, said that many South Korean people are looking forward to visiting Sri Lanka once the COVID-19 situation is curtailed.   

The Ambassador made these remarks when he met with Army Commander Shavendra Silva at the Army Headquarters on Wednesday.   

Ambassador Woonjin donated a consignment of 4,000 re-usable fabric masks for distribution among Army personnel engaged in controlling COVID-19 especially in Gampaha.   

The Ambassador said he was deeply impressed by the effective measures taken by the Sri Lankan Government to cope with Covid-19 pandemic.   

“I am confident that the number of COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka will decline due to the effective mechanism adopted by the military and the health sectors. Also, there has been no single infection case among the Korean community residing in Sri Lanka. On behalf of my country, I would like to thank the Sri Lanka Army for protecting Korean residents in Sri Lanka amid Covid-19 and creating a secure and stable environment for them to reside in Sri Lanka. I would like to convey my appreciation to all Anti- COVID-19 team led by the Army that has been dedicated to the fight against COVID-19 for the Sri Lankan people including Korean residents,” he said.   
He further stated that the Republic of Korea had also successfully coped with COVID-19 similar to Sri Lanka and that there was no COVID-19 cases reported from more than 1,000 Sri Lankan workers repatriated from Korea until now. “A total of 23,000 Sri Lankans live in Korea very safely,” he said.   

He emphasised that Korea and Sri Lanka were among the safest countries in the world at present. The Ambassador affirmed his commitment to promote Sri Lanka among the Korean community and strengthen the bilateral ties in the field of tourism, defence and other areas of interest.   

Ambassador Woonjin asserted that he had no doubt that Korea and Sri Lanka would persevere because together the two countries will overcome every challenge. “The Republic of Korea will always stand together with Sri Lanka in the battle against containing the pandemic,”he said.   

Lieutenant General Silva thanked the Ambassador for the thoughtfulness and the appreciation of the army personnel and said the gesture will deepen the bilateral relations between the two countries.   

As the Head of National Operation Centre for Prevention of COVID-19 Outbreak, Lieutenant General Silva assured the Ambassador that they had devised and operated an efficient mechanism to control the pandemic.