South Korea, India push for major trade boost

India and South Korea have announced plans to significantly expand economic cooperation, targeting a doubling of bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030 through new agreements across key industries including energy, critical minerals, shipbuilding, semiconductors, and steel, News.Az reports, citing Reuters.

Both countries also agreed to resume and accelerate negotiations to upgrade their 2010 trade agreement.

India is seeking a more balanced trade relationship, while South Korea is pushing for improved access to the rapidly growing Indian market.

South Korean President Lee Jae Myung is currently in India for a three-day state visit — the first by a South Korean president in eight years.

After talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Lee said both sides had agreed to “upgrade the framework of economic cooperation” to create new drivers of shared growth.

A new ministerial-level economic cooperation committee has been established, with both sides committing to deepen collaboration in nuclear power plants, clean energy, trade, and investment.

Lee also noted that amid global energy pressures linked to conflict in the Middle East, including tensions affecting oil supply routes, India and South Korea would continue working together to ensure stable access to energy resources and key raw materials such as naphtha.

Modi described the visit as highly significant, saying both countries had taken major steps toward achieving the $50 billion trade target by 2030, compared with current trade levels of about $27 billion. He said the two nations were “laying the foundation for the success story of the next decade,” while highlighting historical civilisational ties between them.

Indian Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal met his South Korean counterpart Yeo Han-koo to discuss revamping the trade pact and expanding cooperation in industry, green energy, and digital trade.

Lee is also expected to attend a joint business forum featuring around 250 South Korean delegates, including representatives from major companies such as Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor, and LG Group.

During the forum, the two sides are expected to sign around 20 private-sector memoranda of understanding covering shipbuilding, digital technology, and energy cooperation.

Separately, POSCO Holdings said in a regulatory filing that its steelmaking unit plans to build a joint venture integrated steel plant with India’s JSW Steel in Odisha, with investment expected to reach about $1.09 billion by 2031.

The planned 6-million-ton-per-annum steel project was previously announced last week.

Experts in South Korea have noted India’s longstanding concerns over a widening trade deficit with Seoul, with some analysts saying political ties have not fully matched the growth in commercial relations. Last year, South Korea recorded a $12.8 billion trade surplus, with exports of $19.2 billion and imports of $6.4 billion, according to industry data.

Lee is expected to continue his regional tour with a visit to Vietnam after concluding his trip to India.

News.Az 

By Nijat Babayev