The top diplomats of South Korea and India held the countries’ first foreign ministers-led dialogue in nearly six years Wednesday to discuss ways to boost bilateral ties.
Foreign Minister Cho Tae-yul and his Indian counterpart, Subrahmanyam Jaishankar, also stressed the importance of their partnership in the Indo-Pacific region during the 10th Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Seoul.
Emphasizing that India is an important partner for South Korea in the international arena, Cho said he “couldn’t agree more” with Jaishankar’s earlier assessment that the Korea-India partnership can emerge as a significant factor in the Indo-Pacific.
At a forum earlier this week, Jaishankar noted South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy, announced under the Yoon Suk Yeol government in 2022, and said it shows the potential for the two countries to work more closely as like-minded countries in common areas, such as building “reliable and resilient” supply chains.
Wednesday’s meeting marked the first JCM, a comprehensive dialogue me
chanism for broad talks on bilateral relations, since December 2018.
The two countries elevated their bilateral relations to a special strategic partnership when Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi paid a state visit to South Korea in May 2015.
Source: Yonhap News Agency