NEW DELHI: Pitching their ties as a “message of peace and stability” amid global tensions, Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung on Monday expanded cooperation across energy, critical minerals, shipbuilding, semiconductors and steel, set a target to double bilateral trade to 50 billion dollars by 2030 and announced Seoul’s entry into the International Solar Alliance and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative.
The two sides also agreed to resume stalled negotiations to upgrade the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), with the next round scheduled for May and a deadline to conclude talks by the first half of 2027.
“In this period of global tensions, India and Korea together send a message of peace and stability… Through our shared efforts, we will continue to contribute towards a peaceful, progressive and prosperous Indo-Pacific region,” Modi said after the talks.
Projecting a broader economic and strategic alignment, he added that cooperation would expand “from chips to ships, talent to technology, environment to energy,” spanning semiconductors, electronics, maritime industries and defence manufacturing. Bilateral trade currently stands at around 27 billion dollars.
To drive this, the two countries agreed to set up a ministerial-level Industrial Cooperation Committee, their first such mechanism, to coordinate investments and supply chains in critical minerals, nuclear and clean energy and advanced manufacturing.
Shipbuilding has been identified as a priority area, with both sides agreeing to facilitate South Korean participation in India’s commercial and naval shipbuilding sectors by leveraging Korean technological capabilities and Indian policy support. An MoU on port cooperation was also signed.
At the joint press interaction, Lee said the two leaders had also discussed the situation in the Middle East and agreed that restoring stability there is crucial for global security and the economy.
He described India and South Korea as “the most ideal partners for comprehensive cooperation” to drive growth and innovation in an era of “hyper uncertainty.”
The push to upgrade CEPA comes after negotiations stalled following the 11th round in July 2024 amid differences over tariffs and non-tariff barriers. Subsequently, the joint declaration commits both sides to holding the next round in May and concluding the upgrade by mid-2027.
Lee, who arrived in New Delhi on Sunday for a three-day state visit, his first since assuming office in June 2025, began engagements with External Affairs Minister S. Jaishankar before a ceremonial reception on Monday.
Ahead of the summit, he told members of the Korean community in New Delhi that economic cooperation between the two countries was “still very low” and needed to be significantly expanded.
Furthermore, Modi emphasised that the relationship between the two nations is centred in shared democratic values, market economy principles and a common outlook in the Indo-Pacific region.
