EAM Jaishankar meets South Korean special envoys, discusses defence, maritime and tech cooperation

New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday met a delegation of special envoys from the Republic of Korea (RoK), led by former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, and discussed ways to strengthen bilateral ties in key areas including economy, technology, defence, maritime security, and people-to-people exchanges.

Jaishankar shared details of the meeting on his official X account. He wrote, “Delighted to meet RoK President Lee Jae Myung’s delegation of Special Envoys to India led by former PM Kim Boo-kyum this morning in Delhi. Discussed economic, technology, defence and maritime cooperation. As well as expanding people-to-people exchanges.”

The meeting comes amid renewed efforts from both sides to boost cooperation across sectors such as green hydrogen, shipbuilding, investment, semiconductors, and regional security, especially in the Indo-Pacific.
Earlier, Indian Ambassador to South Korea Amit Kumar had also met Kim Boo-kyum ahead of his visit to India. The South Korean delegation included Representative Lee Kai Ho and Democratic Party of Korea’s Supreme Council Member Song Sun-ho.

During the interaction, the two sides discussed the multifaceted Special Strategic Partnership and explored opportunities to strengthen bilateral ties in areas such as peace, prosperity, and regional connectivity.

The visit also follows a recent meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung in Canada last month. Both leaders expressed commitment to working together in trade, investment, green energy, and emerging technology sectors.

India and South Korea had earlier launched initiatives like Korea Plus to promote Korean investments in India. A Korea-India SME and Start-up Centre was also set up in Gurugram in 2019. As of June 2023, South Korea’s total foreign direct investment (FDI) in India stood at USD 8.02 billion.