– Electronic development of “Chijilat” and “My Health” under Korean supervision
Availability of multiple visas for Bahrainis for a period of two years for 3 dinars
South Korean Ambassador Hye Kwan Chung said that the volume of trade exchange between the Kingdom of Bahrain and South Korea will reach more than $1 billion in 2022.
This came when the Korean ambassador visited the headquarters of newsdirectory3 newspaper.
The South Korean ambassador agreed with the Chairman of the Board of Directors, Abdul Nabi Al Shula, on the importance of exchanging media experiences between Korea and Bahrain to face the various media challenges in the era of digitization.
The ambassador expressed his willingness to share the initiative with stakeholders in the South Korean media industry.
Ambassador Chung stated, “Trade exchange increased in 2021 by 7 to 8 percent. Despite the Corona pandemic in 2020, trade exchange between the two countries has remained stable. for the strength of joint trade relations.
In response to the Korean ambassador’s response to what Al-Shoulah put forward about the dwindling of Korean real estate companies’ projects compared to the past, the ambassador explained that “Korean companies find it difficult to compete with low-cost construction companies, and therefore they tend now to focus on engineering projects more than construction.”
The ambassador pointed out that Korean construction companies have implemented many complex construction projects. Including many ministerial office buildings, for example the Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Housing in the seventies and eighties of the last century, and people still praise these buildings for their durability and strength of construction. The “ASRY Dry Dock” project is the first major project implemented by the Koreans in the region. So far, a total of 57 projects have been implemented by 17 Korean companies.
He added, “The public sector can intervene when the role of the market is limited. For this purpose, we can promote exchange and cooperation between academic and technical institutions as well as public research institutes. There was an active dialogue between the Bahraini and Korean ministries of health within the framework of a bilateral action plan in this regard.
The Korean ambassador had visited the headquarters of newsdirectory3 newspaper, where he was received by the Chairman of the Board, Abdul Nabi Al-Shula, the Editor-in-Chief, Moanis Al-Mardi, the Chief Executive Officer, Ahmed Al-Bahr, and the Editor-in-Chief and Head of the Local Affairs and Electronic Content Department, Rashid Al-Ghabe.
In this regard, the ambassador referred to what “Samsung Engineering Company, with its Korean employees and technicians, is doing development and expansion work with Bapco.”
He pointed out that the embassy is ready to facilitate cooperation in the fields of renewable energy, environmental industry, food security, education, and other fields.
The Korean ambassador mentioned several models of bilateral investment between the two countries, such as the holding of the third business forum in 2019 in Bahrain, where a Korean business delegation led by the Korean Chamber of Commerce and the Korea Trade and Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA) came to Manama and held many trade and investment consultations with its Bahraini counterpart.
historical relations
At a time when the diplomatic relations between Bahrain and South Korea extend to nearly 47 years, the Korean ambassador described the joint diplomatic relations as positive and vital, stressing the importance of strengthening them at all levels, especially since Bahrain represented in the seventies and eighties a regional gateway for South Korea to the Middle East and the first direct flight To the Gulf launched by the Korean national carrier was to Bahrain.
He added, “After the Asian financial crises in the late 1990s, the Korean Embassy in the Kingdom was closed temporarily, but when it reopened in 2011, a new era of prosperity came and the way of cooperation changed by raising the level of bilateral exchanges to another level. We witnessed the visit of the Crown Prince and Prime Minister, His Royal Highness Prince Salman bin Hamad Al Khalifa, to Seoul in 2012, which inaugurated a new chapter of economic cooperation. On this occasion, the chambers of commerce in the two countries signed a cooperation agreement that provided an excellent platform for business partnerships. The visit of His Highness the Crown Prince was followed by a visit by the Prime Minister of Korea to the Kingdom of Bahrain in 2013.
Ongoing partnership
Significant cooperation has been launched in the field of information technology since 2012. Examples include the agreement to develop the integrated commercial licensing system in Bahrain (Sijilat) between the Korean company and the Ministry of Industry and Trade in Bahrain. Another major e-government project was launched for the National Health Insurance (SEHATI-IT), which has been successfully installed and managed within the framework of the Korean-Bahraini bilateral cooperation.
With regard to cultural promotion, he stressed that the embassy is a permanent partner of the Bahrain Authority for Culture and Antiquities, and there are many events registered within the framework of bilateral cooperation, whether traditional or modern or a mixture of cultural and artistic performances.
Encouraging tourism
Within the framework of exchanging medical expertise and encouraging medical tourism, the first patient traveled in 2022 to receive treatment under the auspices of the Government of Bahrain to Korea to perform surgery and receive appropriate treatment.
The Korean ambassador pointed out that the embassy has annually introduced Bahraini youth to scholarship opportunities in Korea within the GKS (Global Korea Scholarship) program since 2014, noting that last year 3 Bahraini students traveled to Korea to obtain postgraduate studies thanks to the program.
The ambassador explained that “Bahrainis can apply for a (K-ETA) visa, which is equivalent to a multiple-entry visa for two years, with a maximum stay of 30 days per visit, with an application fee of about $9, equivalent to 3 Bahraini dinars only.”
international challenges
On the Russian-Ukrainian war, the Korean ambassador expressed his hope that “the war will end with a peaceful solution,” pointing out that South Korea was a member of the international coalition to help people suffering from the consequences of the war in Ukraine, and Korea pledged to provide humanitarian aid worth $100 million.
Regarding the situation with North Korea, the South Korean ambassador said: “We are facing the possibility of North Korea’s seventh nuclear test, and this part is the cause of tension in our region. President Yoon Sok Yol proposed North Korea’s (bold initiative) and pledged economic rewards for the North’s neighbor’s steps to denuclearize.” “.
newsdirectory3 newspaper warns the various profitable electronic news platforms, of the need to be careful, as stipulated in the law on the protection of intellectual property rights, against the illegality of transmitting or quoting the content of this journalistic article, even if the source is indicated.
