Woonjin Jeong, Ambassador of the Republic of Korea, met with Acting Inspector General of Police C.D. Wickramaratne and a delegation of the Sri Lanka Police on October 15, at the Korean Embassy in Colombo. The Ambassador donated a consignment of reusable fabric masks manufactured by a Sri Lankan social enterprises for distribution among police personnel in appreciation of their dedication and commitment to control COVID-19 island-wide. It is of utmost importance that the police forces remain healthy and the masks will be helpful in controlling the spread of the pandemic within police stations and its environs.

Ambassador Woonjin Jeong commended the Sri Lanka Police force for their hard work in implementing effective measures to cope with Covid-19. He is confident that the number of COVID-19 cases in Sri Lanka will decline due to the effective mechanism adopted by the Anti-COVID-19 Taskforce.

He expressed his gratitude to the Inspector-General and the Sri Lanka Police Force for their diligent efforts, especially in the present situation. Sri Lanka Police has also played a key role in combating the COVID-19 pandemic across the island.

He stated, “There has been no single infection case among the Korean community in Sri Lanka. On behalf of my country, Korea, I would like to thank Sri Lanka Police for ensuring the safety of Korean residents here in Sri Lanka amid Covid-19. I would like to give my sincere appreciation to all police teams who have been dedicated to the fight against COVID-19 for the Sri Lankan people including Korean residents.”

The Ambassador assured that the Republic of Korea will stand in solidarity with Sri Lanka and work together to overcome this pandemic.

The Ambassador further stated that he will undertake his duty to develop the mutually beneficial cooperation between the Police authorities of the two countries.

Korea wishes to be a beacon of hope and a true friend to Sri Lanka in times of difficulty and will help strengthen the bilateral ties to promote a healthy community.

Receiving the donation, C.D. Wickramaratne, Acting Inspector-General of police applauded the Ambassador and thanked him for the gesture of goodwill as a support to the Sri Lanka Police Force. The Inspector-General noted that this meeting is an initiative for Korea and Sri Lanka to create a mutually favourable, investor-friendly environment.

It is important to ensure that the country is secure to attract more investments from Korea. It is vital for the Police to coordinate with the Korean business community in order to facilitate secure trade and investments. Furthermore, he mentioned that it would be beneficial for the Sri Lanka Police to deepen the relationship with its counterpart in Korea in order to share valuable expertise in the field of security.

Priyantha Weerasooriya (Senior Deputy Inspector General of Police), Asanga Karawita, (Deputy Inspector General of Police), Ranmal L.Kodithuwakku (Deputy Inspector General of Police), and S.M. Keerthipala (Senior Superintendent of Police) also graced this occasion.

The Korean residents’ leaders in Sri Lanka and Mr. Sung Hun Lee,Country Director of KOTRA, also participated in this meeting.