Agencies/Seoul

South Korean Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik shaking  hands with Sri Lanka’s External Affairs Minister Gamini Peiris at his office in Seoul yesterday
South Korea said yesterday it has agreed with Sri Lanka to forge closer co-operation on efforts to rebuild the South Asian nation that ended decades of civil war three years ago.
The agreement was reached after talks in Seoul between South Korean Foreign Minister Kim Sung-hwan and his Sri Lankan counterpart, External Affairs Minister Gamini Peiris, earlier in the day, the ministry said in a statement.
“At the talks, Minister Peiris asked South Korean companies to actively participate in post-civil war reconstruction projects, particularly in the fields of irrigation and energy, in northern and eastern Sri Lanka,” the statement said.
Sri Lanka is stepping up efforts to attract foreign capital to rebuild the nation after ending the three-decade civil war with Tamil Tiger rebels in 2009.
Kim also pledged that South Korea will continue to provide development aid to Sri Lanka, ministry officials said
Peiris arrived in Seoul on Wednesday for a three-day visit and also met with Prime Minister Kim Hwang-sik after talks with his South Korean counterpart.
The two nations established diplomatic relations in 1977. In the 1990s, South Korea was the largest foreign investor in Sri Lanka and about 46 Korean firms are doing business in Colombo, according to the ministry.