Yoon Holds Summit with Indian Prime Minister Modi... Agrees to Strengthen Cooperation in Defense and Advanced Technologies

President Yoon Suk-yeol held a summit meeting with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the 20th and agreed to develop cooperation in advanced technology sectors such as defense industry, digital, biohealth, and space.

[Image source=Yonhap News]

President Yoon, who is visiting Hiroshima, Japan to attend the Group of Seven (G7) summit, held a separate bilateral meeting on the morning of the second day of his tour and reached this agreement, according to Lee Do-woon, spokesperson for the presidential office.

This summit marks the first face-to-face meeting between the two leaders in celebration of the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations between Korea and India this year. The two leaders agreed to continue close exchanges around the G20 summit scheduled for September and to solidly develop the "special strategic partnership" between the two countries, the presidential office said.

First, President Yoon said, "Thank you to Prime Minister Modi for attending the 2nd Democracy Summit co-hosted by Korea and the United States last March," and added, "Korea and India, sharing democratic values, should unite and respond together to regional and global issues." Prime Minister Modi expressed his agreement and responded, "Let us strengthen strategic communication and cooperation between our two countries."

The two leaders agreed to develop cooperation not only in defense industry but also in advanced technology fields including digital, biohealth, and space. In particular, they agreed to upgrade the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which came into effect in 2010, to further expand trade between the two countries. They also agreed to pioneer cooperation in new fields to prepare for the next 50 years. President Yoon requested Prime Minister Modi’s attention to ensure that appropriate tariff standards are applied to Korean companies operating in India.

The two leaders also discussed the situation on the Korean Peninsula, the Indo-Pacific region, and global affairs. They agreed that Korea and India are building a solid framework of cooperation based on democratic solidarity, and pledged to jointly contribute to regional peace and stability in harmony with Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy and India’s Act East Policy. They also agreed to jointly support development efforts and climate response initiatives for the Global South (a term referring to emerging and developing countries).

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