Participants at the event of celebrating the 74th Republic Day of India pose at the Indian Cultural Center in Seoul on Jan. 26. Photo by Yeo Hong-il/Korea News Plus

India strives to enhance strategic partnership with Korea

The Embassy of India in Seoul hold an event to mark the 74th Republic Day of India on Jan. 26 at the Indian Cultural Center in the capital of South Korea.

In consideration of his current diplomat status as Ambassador-designate, India Amb. Amit Kumar seemingly opted not to hold a large-scale diplomatic reception.

With the Korean government’s new Indo-Pacific Strategy announcement as a new momentum and impetus recently, India’s significance is emerging rapidly and significantly in terms of Korea’s diplomacy horizon, according to the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MOFA).

This year, the two countries commemorate their 50th year of maintaining diplomatic ties.

Earlier this month, Mr. Shri Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India, paid an official visit to the Republic of Korea to co-chair the fifth Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue (FPSD) with his ROK counterpart First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong.

Touching upon the Special Strategic Partnerships between Korea and India during his speech on the podium, Kumar noted, “During the FPSD, both sides agreed to enhance India–ROK Special Strategic Partnership by strengthening strategic communication through regular high-level engagements including the Foreign Minister-level Joint Commission Meeting, ‘2+2’ dialogue involving Foreign Ministry and Defense Ministry at Vice Minister/Secretary level, other ministerial and senior official dialogues, as the two countries celebrate 50 years of establishment of diplomatic relations this year.”

According to Press Attache, Mr. Kriti Das, India Embassy Seoul, both sides also agreed to deepen cooperation in areas, including trade and investment, security and defense, science, and technology, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges.

Moreover, Secretary (East) informed the Korean side about the opportunities India offers to Korean companies for investments in manufacturing, infrastructure, and other sectors.

The two sides agreed to work to make global supply chains more resilient and robust. They also noted that bilateral trade was at an all-time high of $28 billion and agreed to take concrete steps to realize the vision of taking it to $50 billion by 2030.

Both sides also discussed opportunities for cooperation in new and emerging technologies.

Ambassador Amit Kumar is a career diplomat who joined the Indian Foreign Service in 1995.

He has wide-ranging experience of having served in Headquarters and in several Indian Missions abroad. He has dealt with both bilateral and multilateral work in diverse areas such as political, strategic, and economic spheres.

Prior to taking up his current assignment as the Ambassador of India in Seoul, he was Consul General of India in Chicago, according to India Embassy in Seoul.
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