By Diplomacy Journal Lee Kap-soo

Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, who is on a bilateral visit to India, held his first South Korea-India Foreign Ministers' Meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in New Delhi on August 16 (local time) and exchanged views on high-level exchanges, practical cooperation, and regional issues.

Minister Cho said that the South Korean government is promoting diplomatic diversification, including the continuation and development of the New Southern Policy, based on its vision of becoming a “globally responsible power that responds pragmatically to changes in the world order,” and that in this context, it intends to further develop its special strategic partnership with India, a key partner in the region.

Minister Jaishankar expressed his gratitude to Minister Cho, who served as Korean ambassador to India, for visiting India less than a month after taking office, and emphasized that India also attaches great importance to strengthening cooperation with the new South Korean government.

The two ministers evaluated that high-level exchanges between the two countries have been very close since the establishment of the new South Korean government, including the South Korea-India summit meeting (June 17) on the occasion of the G7 summit in Canada, and the visit of the presidential special envoy to India (July 17-18).

They agreed to take the 10th anniversary of the special strategic partnership this year as an opportunity to take the relationship to a new level through strategic communication and comprehensive cooperation.

In particular, the two ministers agreed to further activate high-level communication, including between the leaders, and Minister Jaishankar requested that the South Korean leader visit India at a mutually convenient time.

The two ministers agreed to strengthen cooperation in the areas of economic security, such as supply chains and core technologies, through progress in the renegotiation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two countries, and to continue to expand defense and defense industry cooperation.

In this regard, Minister Cho requested India's special support for Korean companies operating in India.

In addition, the two ministers evaluated that the two countries have developed long-standing historical and cultural ties and that interest in each other's cultures has recently increased among the people of both countries, and agreed to further expand cultural and people-to-people exchanges between the two countries.

The two ministers also exchanged in-depth opinions on the situation on the Korean Peninsula and other regional and global issues.