India aims to broaden its strategic partnership with South Korea by venturing into new domains such as critical and emerging technologies, semiconductors, and green hydrogen, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar stated on Wednesday during the 10th India-South Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM), which he co-chaired with his South Korean counterpart Cho Tae-yul.
Jaishankar highlighted that the elevation of bilateral relations to a special strategic partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s 2015 visit to South Korea underscores the importance of upholding and expanding upon this partnership. Over the years, bilateral exchanges, trade, investments, defense cooperation, and science and technology collaboration have flourished, maintaining momentum in traditional areas of cooperation.
Expressing interest in diversifying collaboration, Jaishankar emphasized the need to explore new sectors such as critical and emerging technologies, semiconductors, green hydrogen, human resource mobility, nuclear cooperation, and supply chain resilience to modernize bilateral ties.
The minister underscored the growing alignment of India and South Korea’s perspectives in international forums, particularly in the Indo-Pacific region, where both nations share a common interest in stability, security, and prosperity.
Approaching the joint commission meeting with optimism and high expectations, Jaishankar emphasized the importance of translating the existing goodwill into tangible outcomes, drawing inspiration from the discussions between the leaders of both countries in Hiroshima and New Delhi last year.
Jaishankar also extended congratulations to Cho on his appointment as foreign minister in December, wishing him a successful tenure.
Jaishankar’s visit to South Korea marks the first leg of his four-day trip, which also includes Japan. The JCM is anticipated to comprehensively assess bilateral cooperation and explore avenues for further enhancement, providing a platform for exchanging views on regional and global issues of mutual interest.
