E-Paper
Indo-Pacific in focus of India and S Korea talks
India and South Korea have also expanded their relationship to cover the economic development cooperation fund, under which both sides are implementing projects, Jaishankar said.
External affairs minister S Jaishankar and his south Korean counterpart Park Jin on Friday discussed ways to take forward the strategic partnership between the two countries and the situation in the Indo-Pacific region.
In his brief opening remarks at the meeting with Park, Jaishankar said their discussions will focus on strategic issues in the economic and political sphere and people-to-people ties. The visit will also be an opportunity to take forward the special strategic partnership between the two sides, he said.
India and South Korea have also expanded their relationship to cover the economic development cooperation fund, under which both sides are implementing projects, Jaishankar said.
Park, in his opening remarks, highlighted the commonalities between the two sides and their commitment to the Indo-Pacific. “We are both exemplary democracies, vibrant economies and cultural powers and we are both committed to contributing to a free, open, peaceful and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” he said.
“In this way, South Korea and India are natural partners and I have a strong belief that the special strategic partnership between our two countries is the strongest partnership in the Indo-Pacific region,” he added.
Park also made a special mention of India’s soft power and spoke a few lines in Hindi. “Mujhe India aa kar aur aap se milkar bahut khushi ho raha hai,” he said.
India, Park said, has been playing an “increasingly pivotal role in the international arena and is set to further impact the world as the president of the G20”. India has also “demonstrated to the world its cultural prowess with the recent Oscar win, and I must say the ‘Naatu Naatu’ song and dance has captivated the world”, he added.
Park also met vice president Jagdeep Dhankhar on Friday. On Saturday, he will travel to Chennai, where several key South Korean companies have extensive operations. While in the southern city, he will visit a plant of automobile major Hyundai.
In an interview with ANI, Park described India as an “essential partner” in South Korea’s strategy for the Indo-Pacific. “India is a very important country in our Indo-Pacific strategy...Korea wants to play its role and responsibility to contribute to freedom, peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond. In that sense, India is our essential partner,” he said.
Common challenges such as supply chain disruptions, global technological competition, the Covid-19 pandemic, climate crisis and the Ukraine war cannot be addressed by any country on its own and there is a need for cooperation among nations that share core values such as democracy and rule of law, he said.
Key areas where India and South Korea can work together include supply chain stabilisation, manufacturing, artificial intelligence, big data and space, he added.
