[INTERVIEW] India wants deeper ties with Korea on defense, security

Saurabh Kumar, secretary (east) of the Ministry of External Affairs of India, speaks with the Korea JoongAng Daily at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday. [PARK SANG-MOON]

India wants to expand cooperation with Korea on defense and security in the Indo-Pacific region, said Saurabh Kumar, secretary (east) of the Ministry of External Affairs of India.

“We discussed [Korea’s] new Indo-Pacific policy and the opportunities it offers to deepen, strengthen and broaden our bilateral relationship,” said Kumar, speaking at the Grand Hyatt Seoul on Tuesday, the second day of a three-day trip to the country.

Kumar met with First Vice Foreign Minister Cho Hyun-dong on Monday to discuss regional security dynamics and resume the India-Korea Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue, launched in 2010 and last held in Seoul in 2014.

The two countries may hold a first two-plus-two dialogue between their vice foreign and vice defense ministers this year, Kumar said.

Korea holds similar dialogues on the ministerial level with the United States, Indonesia and Australia, two of which are members of the Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, with India.

“There is a convergence amongst the countries which form the Quad, both in terms of the values they uphold as well as the objectives in the Indo-Pacific, which is that we would like to see a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific,” Kumar said. “We would like resolution of issues in a peaceful manner through diplomacy, with territorial integrity and sovereignty of the countries being apparent.”

His visit was the first by a senior-ranking official from India this year, when the two countries mark the 50th anniversary of diplomatic ties.

India, hosting the G20 summit in New Delhi in September, may host a presidential summit with President Yoon Suk Yeol on the sidelines.

“We are looking forward to high-level exchanges during the course of this year, to the visit of President Yoon to India and the foreign minister,” said Kumar.

The last summit between Korea and India was in 2019 in Seoul when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi visited. A year earlier, the leaders of the two countries met in New Delhi and vowed to increase trade levels to $50 billion by 2030.

The trade volume between the two was 23.7 billion in 2021, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.

“India is on a growth trajectory – we recorded growth of 8.5 percent in 2021, and figures last year are estimated to be close to 8 percent,” said Kumar. “India is a promising investment destination and we look for Korean companies to come and invest in India.”

Traditionally, Korean investments in India have focused on the automotive industry and electronics, as Daewoo, Hyundai, LG and Samsung Electronics led Korea’s initial wave of investments in the late 1990s, pumping some $5.44 million into the Indian market between 1996 and 1998, according to the Foreign Ministry in Seoul.

“We would like to see Korean companies further consolidate their position in these sectors, the automobiles, electric vehicles and electronic goods, but also open partnerships across new sectors such as green technology,” Kumar said.

The Kia Carens won the Indian Car of the Year award for 2023 on Sunday, according Hyundai Motor Group. The award, considered the Oscars of the Indian car industry, also crowned Kia’s electric EV6 with the Green Car Award, making Kia the only automotive brand to ever win two Indian Car of the Year awards in the same year.

Kumar was scheduled to meet with the First Vice Defense Minister Shin Beom-chul and National Assembly’s Foreign Affairs and Unification Committee chair Kim Tae-ho on Tuesday before concluding his trip Wednesday.

BY ESTHER CHUNG [chung.juhee@joongang.co.kr]