By Na Jeong-ju
Korea Times Correspondent
NEW DELHI ― President Lee Myung-bak became the first South Korean leader to attend a street parade marking Republic Day, India's largest national celebration, Tuesday.
Lee was invited to the annual event as "Chief Guest." India invites a foreign head of state annually to the two-hour parade in front of the presidential palace to celebrate the establishment of its Constitution and its transition from a British dominion to a republic in 1950.
Russian leader Vladimir Putin and French President Nicolas Sarkozy observed the parade in 2007 and 2008, respectively.
"We are deeply honored that you have accepted our invitation to be the Chief Guest at our Republic Day celebrations," India's Prime Minister Manmohan Singh said during a summit with Lee on Monday.
Later in the day, Lee attended a Republic Day reception hosted by President Pratibha Devisingh Patil at the presidential palace.
Lee and his wife Kim Yoon-ok then met with more than 200 South Korean residents in India that night to explain the government's plans to improve ties with the country.
An estimated 8,500 South Koreans, mostly employees of South Korean companies and their families, are living in India.
Cheong Wa Dae said the Lee-Singh summit laid the groundwork for closer bilateral cooperation in the economic, information technology, infrastructure development and cultural sectors.
Lee and Singh agreed to enhance bilateral relations to a Strategic Partnership and to double the two-way trade between Korea and India to $30 billion by 2014.
The two governments also signed memorandums of understanding on cooperation for the development of space and information technology, and on the transfer of expatriates found guilty of crimes and sentenced to prison terms.