President Lee Jae-myung’s special envoy to India delivered a personal letter to Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reaffirming the South Korean leader’s commitment to developing the special strategic partnership between Seoul and New Delhi.
Lee’s special delegation to India, led by former Prime Minister Kim Boo-kyum, met with Modi as well as key figures from the Indian government and parliament Thursday and Friday in New Delhi, the South Korean Foreign Ministry said Friday.
The special delegation paid a courtesy visit to Modi on Thursday, personally delivering a letter from Lee that "contained his message on strengthening Korea–India relations," the ministry added.
The delegation also “expressed the firm commitment at the leadership level to advancing the Korea–India Special Strategic Partnership, which marks its 10th anniversary this year.”
India is one of the few countries with which South Korea has established a “special strategic partnership,” alongside Indonesia, the United Arab Emirates and Uzbekistan.
During the meeting, Modi expressed hope that Lee would visit India, according to both South Korea’s Foreign Ministry and the Indian Prime Minister’s Office.
"Prime Minister wished the delegation success in their endeavours, and looked forward to an early opportunity to host President Lee Jae Myung in India," Modi’s office said Thursday, local time, in an English-language statement.
Lee and Modi held summit talks in Canada on the sidelines of the Group of Seven or G7 summit in mid-June, less than two weeks after Lee’s inauguration.
Lee’s delegation also “expressed hope that the two countries would continue to strengthen strategic cooperation in areas such as the defense industry and key technologies,” Seoul's Foreign Ministry said.
In return, Modi “expressed strong interest in cooperation with Korea, particularly in the shipbuilding sector, where Korea leads the world,” Seoul added.
Acccording to Modi's office, "(The) Prime Minister highlighted the economic and manufacturing growth in India that unlocks deeper investment opportunities and cooperation in key sectors such as emerging technologies, ship-building, defence, electronics, green hydrogen, and batteries."
Modi also emphasized the potential of Indian markets, citing India’s "demographic dividend" and skilled human resources as a "transformative force for the economies of both countries," his office added.
On his official X, Modi underscored that "India–ROK Special Strategic Partnership, which completes 10 years, continues to grow from innovation and defence to shipbuilding and skilled mobility." ROK stands for South Korea's official name, the Republic of Korea.
"Close collaboration between the democracies contributes to peace, stability, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region," Modi added on X.
During their trip to New Delhi, the South Korean delegation also met Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar and Periasamy Kumaran, joint secretary at India’s Ministry of External Affairs, on Thursday. On Friday, the delegation met with Om Birla, speaker of the Lok Sabha, the lower house of India's Parliament.
President Lee this week dispatched special envoys to several countries — including India, the European Union, France and the United Kingdom — as part of the first batch of diplomatic missions abroad since his inauguration on June 4.
dagyumji@heraldcorp.com
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