INDIA-KOREA - Asia-Pacific Business and Technology Report

DIPLOMACY
INDIA-KOREA
Glorious Past Bright Future
Growing Institutionalization of India-Korea Ties
by Lakhvinder Singh
Indian-Korean diplomatic relations have come a long
way since they were first set up around 50 years ago.
After more than 2000 years of religious and cultural
ties, both countries decided to set up diplomatic liaison
offices in each other’s capitals in 1962. During the full
tide of cold war rivalry, the two nations found themselves
in opposing campuses.
However, despite the growing rivalry
between superpowers, India and South Korea
continued to grow their diplomatic ties
together, and upgraded their diplomatic
ties to the full ambassadorial level in 1973.
Since then they have never looked back.
Today India and Korea are enjoying excellent
relations in all spheres. Bilateral ties
are growing like never before. Trade ties are
growing at 30 percent or more per year. A
new trade target of US$40 billion in 2015 is
said to be easily achievable. Korean investment
in India stands at more than US$2.3
billion. Indian companies have also invested
more than US$1 billion in Korea.
Giving real push to this relationship is
the web of agreements and MoUs which
have been signed between these countries
in recent years which are providing a sound
institutional base. Because this institutional
structure has now acquired a life of its own,
independent of policy and perspectives of
the government of the day, bilateral growth
is expected to continue long into the future.
Today the Indo-Korean economic relationship
is regulated by the Comprehensive
Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA)
signed in 2010. This economic agreement
has proved to be a boon as mutual trade
has been growing more than 30 percent per
year since its initial signing. Encouraged by
this success, both countries have now set
up a joint committee to upgrade the CEPA
to take things to a higher level. The second
meeting of this committee is planned to be
held in Seoul this year.
A joint commission co-chaired by the
Foreign Minister and External Affairs Minister
of the two countries is now regulating
diplomatic relations. Meeting every year
alternately in Seoul and New Delhi, the
commission is constantly reviewing these
growing relations and giving new direction
to the fast-developing strategic partnership.
The seventh meeting of this commission is
scheduled to be held soon in New Delhi.
Foreign Policy & Security Dialogue (FPSD),
being held at the level of Vice Foreign Minister,
MOFAT and Secretary (East), MEA, is
also emerging as a useful instrument for exchanging
views and harmonizing positions
on a variety of bilateral, regional and international
issues.
Defense cooperation and defense exchanges
are also on the rise. Guiding this
cooperation with a strong footing are two
MoUs of defense ties signed in 2010. The
first of these two regulates and promotes
defense-related experience and information,
mutual exchange and visits by military
personnel and experts, including civilian
staff associated with defense services, military
education and training and conduct of
military exercises, exchange visits of ships
and aircraft, as jointly decided between the
two countries. The second MoU, signed between
Controller of Research and Development
of DRDO and Defense Acquisition and
Procurement Agency (DAPA), aims at identifying
futuristic defense technology areas of
mutual interest and pursuing research and
development projects in both countries.
Strategically, India and Korea are also
much closer than ever before. Guiding
this cooperation is the India-Korea strategic
partnership agreement signed during
Korean President Lee’s recent visit to New
Delhi. Given the common challenges that
both countries are facing in ensuring security
against non-conventional threats, both
understand the importance of cooperating
and consulting with each other in developing
a regional architecture in the broader
Asia-Pacific region. The fast-changing balance
of power and new role of emerging regional
powers is being constantly reviewed
under this agreement.
In recent years cooperation in the area
of science and technology was emerging as
a priority between India and Korea. To cement
this cooperation both countries had
set up an institutional infrastructure. In
this regard, the Joint Committee on Science
and Technology has been upgraded to the
ministerial level. Additionally, a US$10 million
joint R&D fund has been set up for research
projects, human resource exchange,
workshops and other science and technology
cooperation programs, which is giving
new impetus to cooperation in these fields.
An MoU on cooperation between the Indian
Space Research Organization (ISRO) and the
Korea Aerospace Research Institute has further
strengthened the base for joint work in
the area of space research. This has already
opened a big window of business opportunity
for two both nations in this sector. India
is actively participating in the RoK’s international
open bidding for the launching of
Korean satellites, for example.
Recently, energy has been emerging as
another area of mutual interest between
the two countries. A bilateral civil nuclear
cooperation agreement signed during Indian
president Partiba Patil’s visit to Korea
last year is providing the legal framework
to this cooperation. Agreement has opened
wide opportunities for Korean companies
to invest in the Indian nuclear energy sector.
The Korean side is said to be actively
asking for a site to set up the first Korean
nuclear reactors in India.
On the front of cultural relations, great
strides have also been made in the recent
past. Successful execution of cultural festivals
in 2011 have brought together the two
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The Defence Minister, Shri A. K. Antony and his South Korean counterpart
Kim Tae-young exchanging pleasantries at their talks,
in Seoul on September 03, 2010
cultures like never before. To take these ties
further, cultural centers are being set up in
both countries (an India cultural center in
Seoul has already been set up in 2011 and a
Korea cultural center in India is planned for
2012). Growing educational and academic
exchange between the two countries is also
playing an important role in bringing students
and scholars together.
An agreement has also been signed to
promote parliamentary and media exchanges.
Korea is also said to be playing
active role in the establishment of Nalanda
University in India to reestablish India’s
traditional connect with East Asia. An MoU
on cooperation between the Korea National
diplomatic Academy and its Foreign Service
Institute is certain to bring the diplomatic
community of these two countries closer
than ever. Agreement on the simplification
of visa procedures is expected to promote
more people-to-people exchanges in the
near future.
Both countries have also agreed to cooperate
on global economic and financial issues
(within the G-20 process). They are also
consulting each other on UN reforms, including
security council expansion. Global
hot spots such as the Gulf, West Asia and
North Africa are also getting due attention
from both partners. Recognizing that any
disruption of peace on Korean peninsula
will have worldwide economic and strategic
ramifications, India is actively advocating
a peaceful resolution of the North Korean
nuclear and missile program. In order
to keep sea lanes of communication open
and safe from piracy and terrorism, India is
advocating closer cooperation with the Korean
navy. Both countries have also agreed
to cooperate within the UN framework in
adopting the Comprehensive Convention
on International Terrorism, and also within
the East Asia summit to make sure the process
is not high-jacked by one country or a
group of countries.
Apart from these major agreements and
MoUs, there exist dozens of other bilateral
agreements promoting smooth functioning
of cooperation between the two countries.
Given all this, India-Korea ties have been
put on very strong footing and thus are expected
to continue expanding for many decades
to come. A-P