New Delhi. Foreign Minister S. Jaishankar called for increasing mutual cooperation in areas of important and emerging technology for a secure Indo-Pacific region at the 10th India-South Korea Joint Commission meeting in Seoul on Wednesday.
In his inaugural address, the minister spoke of the “immense goodwill” between the two countries and said bilateral relations have continued to strengthen. Representatives of the External Affairs Ministry, Defense Ministry and NITI Aayog are also accompanying him on this visit.
Jaishankar, who co-chaired the meeting with his Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yeul, said, “I look at this joint commission with great optimism and expectation. I know there is tremendous goodwill between us. Our challenge is to translate this into practical results.”
Both countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations last year. The External Affairs Minister also discussed the important role played by Prime Minister Narendra Modi during his visit to Seoul in 2015 in elevating relations between the two countries to a “Special Strategic Partnership”.
Highlighting bilateral exchanges and cooperation in trade, investment, defense etc., he said, “It is important that we live up to that. We have continuously become stronger. “Over the years, we have truly become important partners to each other.”
The minister emphasized that India would now be “very interested” in expanding into new areas while maintaining momentum in traditional areas of cooperation.
These include critical and emerging technologies, semiconductors, green hydrogen, human resource mobility, nuclear cooperation, supply chain flexibility etc.
Seeing the increasing similarity in the views of India and Korea on international forums, S. Underlining the importance of the Indo-Pacific, Jaishankar said both India and Korea are “stakeholders in the stability, security and prosperity” of the region.
Arriving in Seoul on Tuesday on his maiden visit, the minister said in an address at the Korea National Diplomatic Academy that India and South Korea can “actively contribute” to reshaping the global order. He said that in a more uncertain and unstable world, the importance of partnership between the two countries has increased.