Korea and India Forge 'Economic Alliance' in Manufacturing, AI, and Energy... Business Leaders Including Lee Jaeyong Gather

India and Korea, both emerging as key hubs in the global supply chain, have further strengthened their strategic economic partnership by concretizing practical cooperation measures in future core industrial sectors such as advanced manufacturing, the digital economy, and energy transition.

Yonhap News Agency

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The Korea Enterprises Federation (KEF) announced on the 20th (local time) that, together with the Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI), it held the "Korea-India Business Forum" at Bharat Mandapam in Delhi, India. Timed to coincide with President Lee Jaemyung’s state visit to India, the forum aimed to enhance economic cooperation with India, which has emerged as the biggest beneficiary of the "China Plus One" strategy (which seeks to establish overseas production bases outside China), and to accelerate progress toward the two countries’ goal of $50 billion in bilateral trade by 2030.

More than 600 people, including President Lee and business and government leaders from both countries, attended the forum. On the Korean side, major business leaders such as Ryu Jin, Chairman of KEF; Lee Jaeyong, Chairman of Samsung Electronics; Euisun Chung, Executive Chair of Hyundai Motor Group; Koo Kwangmo, Chairman of LG; Jang Inhwa, Chairman of POSCO Group; Jeong Giseon, CEO of HD Hyundai; and Cho Hyunjoon, Chairman of Hyosung, were in attendance. Over 50 companies, including mid-sized firms like Krafton and small- and medium-sized companies expected to expand their business in India, joined the Korean economic delegation.

Chairman Ryu stated, "The 670 or so Korean companies operating in India are already playing a key partner role, and now we must broaden the scope of cooperation to encompass all future industries." He emphasized that advanced manufacturing, digital and artificial intelligence (AI), and the cultural industry should be the three main pillars of future cooperation between the two countries. Specifically, he proposed combining Korea's eco-friendly, high value-added technologies in shipbuilding with India's "Maritime India Vision 2030" in the shipbuilding sector; merging Korea’s AI and telecommunications platform technologies with India's outstanding talent and "Digital India Vision" in the digital and AI sectors; and creating synergies in the cultural industry by combining the dynamism of Hallyu (the Korean Wave) and Bollywood (India's film industry).

On the Indian side, more than 350 business leaders attended, including Anant Goenka, President of FICCI; Sudarshan Venu, Chairman of TVS Motor Company; Karan Adani, CEO of Adani Group; Ravikant Ruia, Vice Chairman of Essar Group; and Rajiv Memani, Chairman of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII). Senior government officials, including Piyush Goyal, Minister of Commerce and Industry, also participated.

The first session of the forum, "Advanced Manufacturing and Supply Chain Cooperation," featured POSCO presenting its joint venture case with India's leading steel company JSW Group, highlighting steel supply chain cooperation. In the "Digital Economy" session, Krafton-developer of "Battlegrounds," now considered India's national game-and Indian IT company HCLTech discussed strategies for leading the AI and digital content market. During the "Energy Transition" session, Hyundai Motor announced its strategy for establishing electric vehicle production bases and charging infrastructure in India, while Indian energy solutions company Avaada Group proposed directions for cooperation.

This state visit resulted in tangible outcomes, with a total of 20 memoranda of understanding (MOUs) and contracts signed between companies from both countries. Notably, Hyundai Motor signed a joint development agreement for three-wheeled electric vehicles with local TVS Motor Company. POSCO Holdings finalized a $7.29 billion joint investment with JSW Group for an integrated steel mill. HD Hyundai is pursuing the establishment of core infrastructure and a joint venture for a new shipyard with India’s NSHIP TN and Sagarmala Financial Corporation, and has agreed to collaborate with the Indian Institute of Technology Madras on developing AI-based manufacturing technologies for smart shipyards. In addition, comprehensive partnerships were formed across advanced manufacturing and new industries, including GS E&C’s wind farm efficiency project and Naver’s partnership for digitizing map services.

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