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| India-Pakistan | |
| South Korea, India sign series of comprehensive agreements | |
| 2010-01-27 | |
| NEW DELHI: South Korea and India have signed a series of comprehensive agreements, covering banking, space sciences, information technology and defence. President Lee Myung-bak was also invited to join India's Republic Day celebrations, signalling a high-point in bilateral relations between the two countries. In a rare honour which is reserved for close friends of the country, South Korean President Lee Myung Bak was the chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations. Marking 60 years of the Indian Constitution, the Republic Day parade also showcases India's defence capabilities. And Seoul is clearly keen to engage Delhi in defence cooperation. With the world's sixth largest armed forces, South Korea has already signed a pact with India for securing its sea routes.
A major amount of South Korea's trade is conducted through the sea route and it has great interest in the protection of sea lines of communication in the Indian Ocean. New Delhi also sees Seoul as a valuable partner for policing the sea routes. Lee Myung-Bak, President, Republic of Korea, said: "It feels great to be here in India. I have high hopes for our bilateral relationship, not only in economic matters but expanding our cultural ties, strengthening our political and social ties as well as in science and technology and education. "So, I believe we are entering a very great new era for our future together, going together for Korea and India." The two countries have signed several memorandums of understanding for cooperation in banking, textiles, information technology, space sciences and transfer of sentenced persons. Seoul has also offered to build nuclear reactors in India. The two sides have agreed to work out a framework for civil nuclear co-operation, particularly for developing peaceful nuclear technology. Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said: "There is great admiration in India for rapid progress made by Korea in all fields. The economic growth model followed by Korea has brought unprecedented prosperity to the people of Korea. "We would like to learn from the Korean experience as we enhance our own efforts to achieve rapid and inclusive growth in India. We are committed to developing a robust and comprehensive framework for strategic engagement with Korea." Seoul and New Delhi inked a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement or CEPA last August. Under CEPA, India will eliminate or reduce import duties on 85 per cent of Korean products and South Korea will do the same for 93 per cent of Indian products in a phased manner over the next ten years. With this, India and South Korea are set to double bilateral trade to over US$30 billion by 2014. South Korea is one of the major investment partners in India. There are about 300 Korean companies here, including Samsung, Hyundai motors and LG, and nearly 150 more are ready to set up shop in the next few years. With CEPA, both the countries are looking to expand trade potential closer home, after the global downturn snapped their western markets. | |
| Posted by:john frum |