Korea strengthens partnership with India
President Moon Jae-in shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on the sidelines of the 2017 G20 summit in Hamburg, Germany. / Indian Press Information Bureau
By Yi Whan-woo
President Moon Jae-in's state visit to India from July 8 ti 11 comes amid a rapidly changing security and trade environment in Indo-Pacific region and New Delhi's growing significance as Seoul's partner.
Doubts still remain over North Korea's denuclearization, despite a summit between the leaders of North Korea and the United States in Singapore on June 12.
The Sino-U.S. trade conflict has deepened, fueling speculation that it can hurt South Korea's exports of electronics, cars, steel products and ships.
China, the world's most populated country with 1.4 billion people, also struggles with an aging population. Such demographic change is expected to influence its economic growth, which has slowed to the 6 percent range over the past few years, after hovering around 9 percent or higher in the 2000s.
Against this backdrop, India and South Korea can benefit each other under Moon's New Southern Policy and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi's Act East Policy, according to Seoul officials and analysts.
“India is South Korea's core partner in the New Southern Policy and President Moon's visit is expected to put the policy on the right track and speed it up,” presidential economic adviser Kim Hyun-chul told reporters on July 5. “We'll lay the groundwork to take our 'special strategic partnership' to a future-oriented relationship on the occasion of President's visit.”
Introduced in November 2017, the New Southern Policy aims to elevate South Korea's relationships with ASEAN and Southwestern Asian countries, including India, to the level of those with the U.S., China, Japan and Russia _ the four stakeholders of the Korean Peninsula.
The Act East Policy focuses on extending ties in the Asia-Pacific region.
Regarding security, India has been a member of Non-Align Movement and maintained the diplomatic balance during the Cold War era.
India has the world's second largest population of 1.3 billion, but has a higher fertility rate of 2.4 against China's 1.5, according to the International Institute of Population Sciences data.
India has enjoyed steady economic growth in the 7 percent range, raising that possibility that it will become the world's third largest economy after China and the U.S. in 2024.
Modi has especially shown his keen interest toward Seoul. During a phone conversation with Moon last year, he said he promoted South Korea as a role model for India's economic development,
India's mission to Mars, Mangalyaan, is launched from the Indian Space Research Organization's Satish Dhawan Space Center, Nov. 5, 2013.
India has been a leader in IT and space technology, successfully launching its first mission to Mars, Mangalyaan, on Nov. 5, 2013.
The mission cost about $74 million, which was extremely low by Western standards.
“Despite this, we still lack cooperation with India _ we should discuss improving bilateral ties to understand each other better,” Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP) President Lee Jae-young said at a seminar hosted by KIEP in Seoul on July 3.
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi unveils the logo at the inauguration of the “Make in India” campaign in New Delhi, Sept. 25, 2014.
Deputy Trade Minister Kang Sung-chun, who also gave a speech at the seminar, referred to Modi's “Make in India” campaign aimed at encouraging international companies to invest and manufacture their products in India.
“I hope more South Korean companies open their businesses in India, in addition to Samsung Electronics, LG Electronics and Hyundai Motor, which already operate there,” Kang said.
KIEP Senior Director General Cho Choong-jae said utilizing India's “excellent and abundant human resources” in the information technology sectors could help South Korea cope with the Fourth Industrial Revolution.