BOL signs cooperation agreement with Bank of Korea
BOL signs cooperation agreement with Bank of Korea
The Bank of the Lao PDR (BOL) has signed a technical cooperation agreement with the Bank of Korea (BOK) on the 2016 BOK-Knowledge Partnership Programme (KPP) with the aim of strengthening the technical skills of Lao banking officials.
Deputy Director General of BOL's International Relations Department, Ms Chansouk Phommavanh, signed the agreement with BOK's Deputy Director General of the Office of International Affairs, Mr Kee Sun Jang, in Vientiane yesterday.
Last year, the Bank of Korea also provided generous support to the Bank of the Lao PDR on the implementation of the ‘Advancing Structure of the Financial Market', and this year the cooperation on ‘Payment and Settlement System Operation and Oversight Framework' was signed between the two sides in Vientiane.
Speaking at the signing ceremony, Director General of BOL's International Relations Department Mr Phetsathaphone Keovongvichith said the additional technical cooperation agreement was a follow-up to the cooperation that was successful last year.
“The technical cooperation between the BOL and the BOK for the implementation of the project on Payment and Settlement System Operation and Oversight Framework is indeed timely and relevant,” he said.
Mr Phetsathaphone said the BOK has selected this topic proposed by the BOL as the area of study will not only support one of the priorities of BOL but will also contribute to BOL's internal efforts to develop and implement a modern, secure and efficient domestic payment system in Laos.
“The signing of this technical cooperation between our two organisations under the KPP will also strengthen our collaborative relationship with the Bank of Korea and deepen our partnership through the greater engagement of professors from Korean universities,” he said.
Mr Kee Sun Jang noted that the KPP was launched in 2015 as an annual event to strengthen international mutual understanding between the central banks of neighbouring countries and the Bank of Korea.
“This year, we have selected four different countries, and Laos is one of those candidates, following previous successful implementation of technical cooperation,” he said.
The Bank of Korea continues to collaboratively build relationships through the 2016 BOK-knowledge Partnership Programme with the Bank of the Lao PDR for the development of friendly and close ties between the two banks, Mr Jang said.
Under the previous cooperation project, BOL banking officials participated in two seminars held in Laos and one held in the Republic of Korea. Many banking officials had the chance to write academic technical research and share technical knowledge with Korean professors from reputable Korean universities.
As a result of last year's cooperation project, the two central banks signed a bilateral agreement to implement their technical cooperation until the end of this November.
After the signing ceremony, representatives from BOL, commercial banks in Laos and other financial institutions attended a morning seminar conducted by professors from a well known Korean university.
