South Korea to expand job prospects for Sri Lankans amid island country's economic crisis

As Sri Lanka reels under a severe economic crisis, South Korea has decided to increase employment prospects for Sri Lankans. South Korea announced that due to Sri Lanka's economic crisis, they will focus on increasing employment prospects for Sri Lankan citizens in the country. South Korean Coordination Minister Koo Yun Cheol was on his visit to Sri Lanka from March 31 to April 2  and after a courtesy call to Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa at the Presidential Secretariat, Cheol announced the country's move to help the citizens of the island country.

During the call, the Korean Coordination Minister stated that in the 45th year of diplomatic relations between Sri Lanka and South Korea, both countries should consider various methods to further develop their strong bilateral relationships in the future. Cheol also promised that he would encourage more Korean entrepreneurs to invest in Sri Lanka and that they would share their technological experience with the country's residents.

Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa pressurised to resign

Meanwhile, Sri Lankan President Gotabaya Rajapaksa has been pressurised to resign in the midst of the economic crisis. However, Sri Lanka's Chief Government Whip Johnston Fernando stated that the President will not resign and will continue to deal with current concerns. Fernando stated that President Rajapaksa will not quit under any circumstances as a responsible government.

Sri Lanka's Minister of Foreign Affairs G.L.Peiris expressed Sri Lanka's gratitude to the Korean government for the tremendous assistance provided thus far through loan assistance and the Economic Development Co-operation Fund (EDCF), saying that the government is looking forward to expanding into many areas, including pharmaceutical production, small and medium enterprises (SME), waste disposal, and energy, according to Ada Derana. Minister Peiris also stated that the two sides decided to work together to improve collaboration in mutually advantageous areas.

Sri Lanka facing food and fuel shortage

Sri Lanka is also facing food and fuel shortages, which are affecting a major portion of the island's population. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, the economy has been in free fall. Sri Lanka is also experiencing a currency shortage, which has hampered the country's ability to purchase food and gasoline, resulting in power outages. The country was forced to seek help from other countries due to a lack of basic goods.

(Inputs from ANI)