Korea to help capacity building for universal pension scheme

Staff Correspondent: Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) yesterday organized an orientation for five high-level officials from the Finance Division at the secretariat to enhance capacity-building for the effective management of the national pension scheme introduced by Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to bring the citizens under the pension coverage.
The five officials will be attending an extensive training program from September 4 to September 12 in South Korea to foster knowledge exchange, skill enhancement, and best practice adoption, a press release issued by KOICA said here yesterday.
The training program is designed to provide participants with insights into South Korea’s advanced pension management practices and administrative strategies and enabling them to drive positive reforms within their own system.
The Korean National Pension Service is the third-largest in the world, managing $800 billion in assets, and is equipped with a state-of-the-art system for secure and accurate management of the national pension.
Speaking at the ceremony, KOICA Deputy Country Director Kang, Hyun Suh said that KOICA is pleased to be a part of Bangladesh’s journey to be a ‘welfare state’ aspiring to achieve a middle-income country’s economic status.
She reiterated the hope that by equipping the officials with the necessary tools and knowledge, KOICA under its CIAT (Capacity Improvement and Advancement for Today) program aims to elevate the standard of pension scheme management in Bangladesh, ultimately benefiting its citizens.
As a government aid agency of the Republic of Korea under the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, KOICA has been implementing Korea’s grant aid and technical cooperation to support socio-economic development in Bangladesh since 1993.
Every year, under CIAT Program, KOICA awards invitational trainings and scholarships to Bangladesh government officials to attend short courses, pursue PhD and Master’s degrees at top Korean universities.