India, South Korea to resume CEPA talks to rebalance bilateral trade

During South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's visit, India and South Korea decided to resume and expedite CEPA upgrade negotiations. The aim is to rebalance the $27 billion bilateral trade, which is heavily skewed in South Korea's favour.

India, South Korea to Resume CEPA Upgrade Negotiations

As part of effort to realise the full potential of bilateral trade and to promote mutually beneficial exchanges in new avenues of trade including digital trade, supply chain collaboration and green economy, India and South Korea have decided to resume and expedite the CEPA (Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement) upgrade negotiations for early conclusion. The decision was taken during South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's visit to India. He held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi here on Monday.

Answering queries during a special briefing on South Korean President's visit to India, Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) Secretary (East) P Kumaran said there is need to rebalance CEPA. "The CEPA, as you know came into force in 2010. The bilateral trade is close to 27 billion. But it is quite unbalanced in the sense that our exports are in the range of about six and a half billion, while Korea's is about 18 and a half billion," he said. "So, there is a need to rebalance the CPA, try and find ways to increase our exports to match that of Korean exports. Non-tariff barriers are also a subject, as you expect in all left field negotiations, because it is CEPA, they're also looking at enhancing investment, finding ways to facilitate investment and also enhance services exports from India, an area of particular strength for us," he added.

Strengthening Financial Cooperation

According to a joint strategic vision for India-South Africa Strategic Partnership, Prime Minister Narendra and visiting South Korean leader expressed satisfaction with the successful holding of the 'ROK-India Financial Cooperation Forum' with the participation of financial authorities and institutions from both countries to strengthen cooperation in the financial sector, including banking, capital markets and fin-tech. The statement said that South Korea's financial entities are important players in India's economic development, focusing their investments on infrastructure, manufacturing, and the growing financial market.

Enhancing Investment and Development Partnership

"In this context, the two leaders noted the successful operation in India by the Korea Investment Corporation, and welcomed the interest of Korea Development Bank to open an office in India. Prime Minister Modi also invited the National Pension Service of the ROK to explore opening of its office in India," the statement said. Recognizing the potential for development partnership between India and South Korea, the two leaders agreed to continue to work together to advance development cooperation for capacity-building of skilled industrial human resources in India, including ongoing projects implemented by KOICA.

The two sides agreed to work together to ensure effective development cooperation between the two countries. (ANI)

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