President Lee Jae Myung said on Monday that South Korea and India will continue to cooperate to ensure stable supplies of energy resources and key raw materials as both countries seek closer ties amid geopolitical uncertainties.
Lee, who arrived in India on Sunday on a three-day state visit, was speaking in New Delhi after talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
Modi stressed economic and strategic objectives during his summit with Li, saying the two countries would double bilateral trade to $50 billion (about €42.5 billion) by 2030.
New Delhi, Seoul discuss trade, shipbuilding, AI
Li and Modi discussed close cooperation in bilateral ties, including their shared vision on the Indo-Pacific and enhancing cooperation in areas such as shipbuilding, artificial intelligence and defence.
On the trade front, South Korea exported $19.2 billion worth of goods and services to India last year and imported only $6.4 billion, leaving its trade surplus at $12.8 billion, according to Korea International Trade Association data.
Lee, who made his first state visit to India since taking office last year and the first by any South Korean leader in eight years, is also scheduled to participate in business events with corporate leaders during the visit.
Li keen to increase economic cooperation with India
“The level of economic cooperation between South Korea and India is still very low,” Lee said at a dinner meeting with members of the Korean community in New Delhi on Sunday.
“Moving forward, we will expand that space and make the relationship between South Korea and India completely different from what it is now.”
‘Important strategic partners are increasing’
On Sunday, Li said supply chain instability and global economic tensions, particularly due to the fallout from the Iran war, make the two countries increasingly important strategic partners.
Recently, amid the chaos of the Middle East crisis and the blockage of shipping traffic through the Strait of Hormuz, South Korea turned to India seeking more naphtha supplies. India supplied about 8% of South Korea’s naphtha imports last year.
After India, Lee will visit Vietnam.
Edited by: Alex Berry