Barrington Flemming, Gleaner Writer
A reception of friendship was hosted on Monday evening by the Embassy of Korea, at the Leader Avenue residence of Jamaica's Honorary Consul to Korea, Kishin Samtani, to introduce to Montego Bay the new Korean ambassador to Jamaica, Jong Seon Lim, and his family.
Samtani, in welcoming the guests, said it was a calculated move by the Korean government to appoint Lim to serve in Jamaica, to further strengthen the positively growing friendship between both countries.
"As a testament to the growing relationship between both countries, Korean East West Power Company currently owns 40 per cent of the Jamaica Public Service. This sizeable investment by a Korean company in Jamaica has created interest by other Korean companies looking to invest in Jamaica," Samtani said.
He also indicated that, through the Korean International Cooperation Agency, 40 Jamaican officials have visited Korea to take part in various training programmes in the past two years.
Samtani said the Korean government had granted several scholarships to Jamaican students to earn degrees, adding that these opportunities would now be made available to students in Montego Bay as well.
In his response, Ambassador Lim expressed his appreciation for the warm reception he had received in Montego Bay, pointing to the fact that Korea and Montego Bay had forged a strong bond two years ago with the introduction of the Smart City project to Montego Bay.
"I want to say thanks to all of you. We have a strong friendship and we want to do more to strengthen this," he said.
Prior to assuming duties as chargé d'affaires of the Korean Embassy in Jamaica, Ambassador Lim served in Guatemala, Brazil, Saudi Arabia, the United States, Venezuela and Peru.
Montego Bay welcomes new Korean ambassador