Lee, Modi deepen Korea-India strategic partnership

South Korean President Lee Jae-myung, on a state visit to India, met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 20 and said the two countries agreed they can act as comprehensive partners for growth and innovation in an uncertain global environment.

The leaders pledged to deepen their special strategic partnership and expand cooperation across a range of sectors, including shipbuilding, finance, artificial intelligence and defense industries.

At a joint press briefing at Hyderabad House in New Delhi, Lee said both sides would upgrade their economic cooperation framework to create new drivers of shared growth. He added that they aim to increase bilateral trade from about $25 billion annually to $50 billion by 2030.

To that end, the two governments signed 15 memorandums of understanding, including an agreement to establish a ministerial-level Industrial Cooperation Committee. The committee will address trade and investment issues and identify joint projects in areas such as shipbuilding, nuclear energy and critical minerals.

The two sides also agreed to resume negotiations to upgrade the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, with a target of concluding talks in the first half of 2027.

India, the world’s most populous country, is emerging as a major economic force. With growth exceeding 7 percent annually since 2014, its economy is projected to surpass Japan and Germany by 2027 to become the world’s third largest.

In a written interview with The Navbharat Times released the same day, Lee said South Korea plans to broaden cooperation with India beyond traditional industries such as electronics and automobiles into shipbuilding, finance and defense. He highlighted “Make in India, Together with Korea” as a guiding vision for future collaboration.


Hoon-Sang Park tigermask@donga.com