President Mahinda Rajapaksa is to leave for South Korea on a four-day official visit from April 23 – 27 on an invitation extended by the South Korean President Lee Myung-Bak.

President Rajapaksa will hold bilateral discussions with his South Korean counterpart while several agreements will also be signed during President's stay.

Bilateral relation between Sri Lanka and South Korea dates back to 1968 when South Korean opened a trade mission in Colombo . In 1977, the South Korean Embassy was opened in Colombo while Sri Lanka 's Ambassador in Japan was concurrently accredited to Seoul in 1978. Sri Lankan resident Embassy in Seoul was opened in 1987.

Sri Lanka's exports to South Korea have increased from USD 18.04 million in 2004 to USD 45.05 in 2011. Coconut fibre, rubber products, articles of rubber and knitted and woven garments are the major export items to Korea and the value of these items altogether has constituted 36.7% of total exports in 2011. Other export items from Sri Lanka to Korea are rubber products, furniture, mattresses, tea, tableware and activated carbon.