Choo Kyung-ho Meets Indian Finance Minister: "Hope to Discover Green, Digital, and Health Infrastructure Projects"

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho met with Nirmala Sitharaman, India’s Minister of Finance, on the 4th in Songdo, Incheon, to discuss ways to expand economic cooperation between the two countries.

During this meeting held on the occasion of the 56th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB), Deputy Prime Minister Choo and Minister Sitharaman exchanged views on the Group of Twenty (G20), Economic Development Cooperation Fund (EDCF), trade, investment, and other related topics.

India is a global power with the world’s 5th largest economy and a population of 1.4 billion, possessing not only hard power but also soft power through its film, cuisine, and notable figures. It is an important economic partner for our government as well. India ranks as our 11th largest trading partner, and bilateral relations have been continuously developing, with trade volume reaching record highs every year since 2021.

At the meeting, Deputy Prime Minister Choo emphasized the need to hold the 6th Korea-India Finance Ministers’ Meeting to further develop bilateral cooperation and proposed holding it in the second half of this year. He stated, "Once the $4 billion EDCF basic agreement currently underway is signed, it will contribute to expanding economic cooperation between the two countries," adding, "We hope to identify large-scale infrastructure projects in the green, digital, and healthcare sectors."

Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Economy and Finance Choo Kyung-ho is taking a commemorative photo with Nirmala Sitharaman, Minister of Finance of India, at Songdo Convensia before their bilateral meeting during the 56th Annual Meeting of the Asian Development Bank (ADB) held in Incheon on the 4th.

Deputy Prime Minister Choo also explained the difficulties faced by Korean companies operating in India, such as customs clearance issues, to promote more active investment cooperation between the two countries, and requested the Indian government’s attention and support to resolve these issues based on mutual trust.

India’s Minister of Finance Nirmala Sitharaman agreed on the necessity of holding the 6th Korea-India Finance Ministers’ Meeting in the second half of the year to advance bilateral cooperation through high-level exchanges and responded by proposing to proceed with practical scheduling discussions.

She also emphasized India’s large domestic market and opportunities to enter neighboring countries, requesting government support and interest to encourage Korean companies to actively expand into sectors such as manufacturing, renewable energy, infrastructure, pharmaceuticals, and food processing in India.

She expressed hope that the two countries will actively cooperate to discover infrastructure projects based on the EDCF basic agreement and improve mutual market access through negotiations to enhance the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA).

The two countries plan to deepen discussions on key economic cooperation issues and strengthen their cooperative relationship through high-level exchanges and practical communication, including the 6th Korea-India Finance Ministers’ Meeting.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.