India hopes to strengthen ties with new Yoon government

President Yoon Suk-yeol, right, speaks with Indian Ambassador to Korea Sripriya Ranganathan at her office in Seoul, May 6. Yonhap

By Kwon Mee-yoo

India Prime Minister Narendra Modi

India is an important partner of Korea in the Indo-Pacific region, and India's Prime Minister Narendra Modi sent a congratulatory message to Korea's new President Yoon Suk-yeol, Tuseday, as Yoon assumed office.

"I extend my heartfelt greetings and good wishes to ROK President @sukyeol__yoon as he commences his term in office today. I look forward to meeting him soon and working together to further strengthen and enrich the India-ROK ties," Modi wrote on Twitter.

Indian Ambassador to Korea Sripriya Ranganathan attended Yoon's inauguration ceremony on Tuesday on behalf of her country. Prior to Yoon's inauguration, the Indian ambassador to Seoul paid a courtesy call to Yoon at his office, May 6.

According to the Indian Embassy here, Ambassador Ranganathan discussed the huge scope of cooperation between the two countries with Yoon, starting from the long historical and cultural ties including the marriage of Queen Heo Hwang-ok from India to Korean King Kim Su-ro, dating back to the 1st century, and India's contribution during the 1950-1953 Korean War.

As both countries will celebrate the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations next year, Yoon and Ranganathan agreed to intensify high-level visits and engagements. They also discussed cooperation on supply chain issues, the Indo-Pacific region and the Korean Peninsula.

President Yoon said that his administration will scale up cooperation with India and asked for support in dealing with North Korea's provocations as a member of the U.N. Security Council, as well as Korea's partnership with the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue.