MEA Secretary (East) P. Kumaran will visit the Republic of Korea on Feb 12-13 to co-chair the 6th Foreign Policy & Security Dialogue. The visit follows the 5th dialogue in 2023, where both nations aimed to boost their strategic partnership.
P. Kumaran, Secretary (East) in the Ministry of External Affairs, will undertake an official visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK) from February 12 to 13. During his visit, he will co-chair the 6th Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue (FPSD) with his ROK counterpart, Park Yoon-joo, First Vice Foreign Minister of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, according to a statement from the Ministry of External Affairs.
5th Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue Recap
Earlier on January 17, 2023, Saurabh Kumar, Secretary (East), Ministry of External Affairs, paid an official visit to the Republic of Korea (ROK) from January 16-17, 2023 to co-chair the 5th Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue (FPSD) with his ROK counterpart Cho Hyundong, First Vice Foreign Minister, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Republic of Korea, on January 16, 2023, a statement by the Ministry of External Affairs said.
Enhancing Strategic Partnership
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.
Both sides agreed to deepen cooperation in areas including trade and investment, security and defence, science and technology, as well as cultural and people-to-people exchanges, as per the statement.
Economic Cooperation and Trade Goals
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 USD 28 billion approx. and agreed to take concrete steps to realise the vision of taking it to USD 50 billion by 2030. Both sides also discussed opportunities for cooperation in new and emerging technologies, the statement said.
Regional and Global Perspectives
FPSD provided an opportunity to share perspectives on regional and global issues, including the situation on the Korean Peninsula and in the Indo-Pacific region.
The two sides noted that the ROK's recently announced Indo-Pacific Strategy provides an opportunity to deepen bilateral cooperation, including expanding it to new areas. They also discussed cooperation in multilateral fora.
Secretary (East) briefed the ROK side about the priorities of India during its Presidency of G20. The latter appreciated India's efforts and assured its full support in the success of the G20. (ANI)
(Except for the headline, this story has not been edited by Asianet Newsable English staff and is published from a syndicated feed.)