New Delhi: External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday Co-chaired the 10th India-South Korea Joint Commission meeting with his counterpart Cho Tae-yul in Seoul to expand bilateral ties.
Making initial remarks, the External Affairs Minister said, “Two nations witnessed a growing convergence of their views in the international forum.”
“The focus on the Indo-Pacific region is a good case to point, and we both have stakes in its stability, security, and prosperity,” he added.
He said during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to South Korea in 2015, bilateral relations were elevated to a special strategic partnership.
“We would be very much interested now in expanding into new areas, such as critical and emerging technologies, semiconductors, green hydrogen, human resource mobility, nuclear cooperation, supply chain resilience, etc to make our ties more contemporary,” he said.
Earlier in a social media post on X, the Minister said, “Conversations covered our expanded bilateral ties, cooperation in the fields of defence, science & technology, business & trade, people to people exchange and cultural cooperation. Also spoke of advancing trilateral cooperation”.
“Exchanged views on the developments in the Indo-Pacific, our convergences to challenges in the region and regional & global issues of mutual interest,” he added.
Jaishankar said he approached the joint commission with a great deal of optimism and expectation.
“I know there is enormous goodwill between us. Our challenge is to translate that into practical outcomes,” he said.
The External Affairs Minister, Jaishankar, is on the first leg of his four-day visit to South Korea and Japan.
The External Affairs Minister will attend the 16th India-Japan Foreign Minister’s Strategic Dialogue with the Foreign Minister of Japan, Yoko Kamikawa, on Thursday.
“The two ministers are expected to discuss issues of bilateral, regional, and global importance and exchange views on cooperation for a free, open, inclusive, peaceful, and prosperous Indo-Pacific,” the ministry said in a statement.
“The India-Japan Special Strategic and Global Partnership has further deepened in the last decade in areas such as defence and digital technologies, semiconductor supply chains, clean energy, high-speed rail, industrial competitiveness, and connectivity,” it said.
