S Korea to release grant of $4m to preserve Gandhara heritage

ISLAMABAD: South Korean Ambassador Suh Sangpyo on Sunday announced that Pakistan and South Korea are all set to sign an MoU to preserve and promote Gandhara Buddhist heritage for which the Korean government would release a grant of $4 million.

Addressing the ceremony held to celebrate the National and Armed Forces Day of his country, Ambassador Suh Sangpyo said the MoU is expected to facilitate the Korean Buddhist Tourism project which was discussed when the President of Jogye Order visited Pakistan in 2019.

The ambassador said the Korean music, dancing and drama are also popular in Pakistan, adding there are more areas to expand bilateral cooperation between the two countries. He reminded that since the establishment of diplomatic ties in 1983, the relations of the two countries have increased rapidly in manifold areas.

He said during the current Afghan crisis, Pakistan and Korea are closely cooperating with each other. With full support from the Pakistani government, 390 Afghan nationals were safely moved from Kabul through Islamabad to Korea, he added.

The ambassador said South Korea announced provision of the Economic Development Cooperation Fund of $1 billion for five years starting from next year. “This fund is a soft loan to assist the developing countries. The previous fund was $500 million. Now in terms of the committed volume of EDCF, the number has doubled. Grant assistance from the Korean development agency, KOICA, is also active now, five projects ongoing amounting 40 million dollar and next year two more projects amounting 15 million dollar will be added up”, he said.

Federal Minister for Education Shafqat Mehmood also spoke on the occasion, while Chairman Senate Committee on Defence Senator Mushahid Hussain Syed, speaking on the event, said Pakistan and Korean people have a number of similarities. “South Korea and Pakistan share the oldest unresolved issues with ‘our neighbours’. Recent gestures of peace between North and South Korea are encouraging. We need to promote people-to-people exchanges and increase ties in the areas of technological cooperation,” he added.