South Korean President Moon sets trade target of $50 bn to be achieved by 2030, up from $20 bn now

Elizabeth Roche   

India and South Korea on Tuesday agreed to add content to their strategic ties through Agreement to facilitate ongoing negotiations on upgrading the IndiaKorea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) by identifying key areas for trade liberalization MoU to aid cooperation in the area of trade r

India, South Korea pledge to bolster strategic partnership

an intensification of consultations and top-level interactions against the backdrop of major geopolitical changes in Asia, building on the existing edifice of economic ties that the two sides pledged to further strengthen.

In a joint vision statement, the two countries reaffirmed their mutual intent to strengthen their “special strategic partnership” and signed a series of agreements, including an Early Harvest package—issues where a breakthrough was achieved—to upgrade the India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

South Korean President Moon Jae-in also set a trade target of $50 billion to be achieved by 2030, up from the $20 billion at present. Korean investments in India have amounted to almost $7 billion since 2000. Moon has urged Korean companies to participate in Indian infrastructure and manufacturing in a big way.

Moon is on his first visit to India since taking office in May last year and comes three years after Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to South Korea.

The visit takes place against the backdrop of Seoul looking to improve ties with North Korea with Moon meeting North Korean leader Kim Jong-un in April leading to a summit meet between Kim and US President Donald Trump last month.

“The core of the relationship (between India and South Korea) remains economic,” said former Indian ambassador to South Korea Vishnu Prakash, adding the two sides were working on building up the strategic aspect of bilateral ties, which at present remained “aspirational.”

Both Modi and Moon spoke on Tuesday of building on the complementarities between India’s “Act East” policy and South Korea’s “New Southern Policy”. The “Act East” policy aims to deepen India’s ties with the fast growing economies of South-East Asia besides shoring up ties with countries such as Japan, while Moon’s strategy looks at diversifying Seoul’s economic and political linkages with South-East Asia and India reducing reliance in its two biggest trading partners, China and the US.

The joint vision statement highlighted the fact that the two countries had “agreed to explore further possibilities to coordinate efforts in the defence and strategic spheres” and in this context South Korea and India “will enhance military exchanges, training and experience-sharing, and research and development, including innovative technologies for mutual benefit”. “We also agreed to encourage our defence industries to intensify cooperation in this regard,” the statement added.

“Recognizing the link between prosperity and security, we reaffirmed the importance of freedom of navigation, overflight and unimpeded lawful commerce. We supported initiatives for peaceful resolution of conflict through dialogue, underlying the centrality of sovereignty and territorial integrity, in accordance with the universally-recognised principles of international law,” the statement said.

China has in the past put strictures on the movement of ships and flights through the South China Sea, which it claims almost in its entirety, putting it in contention with some South=East Asian countries.

Both countries recognized the “importance of regular high-level exchanges to consolidate progress in the bilateral partnership.”

 

The two countries also agreed to “intensify leadership-level contact, including through biennial visit by the leaders of the two countries”. “We agreed to expand interaction by regularising existing dialogue mechanisms as well as by exploring other areas of mutual interest and cooperation,” the statement said. @ashokgehlot51 BJP has been continuously favouring rich businessmen, big business houses. This has been proved time and again. @yadavtejashwi Where is Nitish Kumar, gang of loudmouth ministers & swaggers of BJP who can’t even get Central University status for century old Patna Univers ity? @SitaramYechury This granting of ‘Eminence’ tag to a non-existent university of a corporate is perfectly in line with a write-off of ₹3 lakh crore of unpaid bank loans for friendly corporates in the past four years.

Elizabeth.r@livemint.com NEW DELHI

Courtesy: Mint: 11 Jul 2018