Description: South Korea’s president, Lee Jae Myung arrived in New Delhi on an official state visit with Indian prime minister Narendra Modi. The leaders reportedly agreed to increase bilateral trade ties and economic cooperation on several fields prioritizing energy supply. Lee and Modi agreed to expand bilateral cooperation on energy, critical minerals, maritime trade, semiconductor development and steel production. Lee arrived in New Delhi accompanied by more than 200 South Korean entrepreneurs and executives from companies such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG, emphasizing the attractiveness of the Indian market. India and South Korea will also create an economic cooperation committee on a ministerial level that would oversee cooperation in sectors such as nuclear and clean energy as well as trade investment. The leaders also stated that the primary goal would be to double bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030, increasing energy supplies and cooperation in steel production with South Korea’s POSCO Holdings pledging to build an integrated steel plant with India’s JSW in Odisha state.
Impact: India and South Korea’s strategic engagement arrives as a natural convergence between two developing countries with emerging economies and would likely translate into more extended political and commercial partnership. Modi and Lee are both experiencing the effects of the global energy crisis and aiming to strengthen stable energy supplies and diversify energy resources which would likely reflect towards enhanced cooperation on renewable energy resources. India is likely aiming to leverage South Korea’s sophisticated technological sector in order to advance its AI industry while South Korea could likely benefit in sectors such as electronics and semiconductors with India’s growing critical minerals market.