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External Affairs Minister's opening remarks at the 8th India-Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) in Seoul

December 29, 2014

Excellency, thank you for your kind words. It is a pleasure to be in Seoul, for the 8th India- Republic of Korea Joint Commission Meeting. In this cold weather your gracious hospitality has provided welcome warmth.

At the outset I will like to warmly compliment Korea for the very successful Korea-ASEAN Summit earlier this month.

I recall our meeting in Nay Pyi Taw on August 10, 2014. We had very good discussions. Subsequently, our Prime Minister met President Park again in Nay Pyi Taw on 12 November, 2014. This was the first meeting between the two leaders. They covered wide ranging issues and reached a common understanding to further strengthen our Strategic Partnership.

My Government attaches importance to relations with Republic of Korea. We see you as an important partner for our economic growth. Korea and Korean companies occupy a strategic place in India’s ‘Act East’ initiative.

We are happy at the success that the Korean companies have enjoyed in India. Today Hyundai, Samsung and LG have become household names in India.

We invite Korean companies to build on their success in India and make bold investments to benefit from my government’s focus on ‘Make in India’ which is aimed at providing necessary policy and other incentives to encourage manufacturing in India.

We would like to see a new form of connectivity between our two countries through cross-border production networks.

We need to work together to realize the fuller potential of bilateral trade. We had set a target of US$ 40 billion by 2015. To achieve this target, our companies need to take full advantage of our economic complementarities and leverage the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement.

Excellency, our relations are age old. Since ancient times, Buddhism has been an unbroken link connecting our two peoples. In modern times, our relations are further strengthened by our common commitment to peace, democracy, rule of law and pursuit of better living conditions for our peoples.

We are inheritors of the pioneering spirit of the Queen from Ayodhya who travelled to marry King Kim Suro in 48 AD. Today, I look forward to exchanging ideas with you in diverse fields with the objective to further strengthen that pioneering spirit and explore ways to further enrich our bilateral Strategic Partnership.

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