{"id":2198167,"date":"2022-08-11T17:29:59","date_gmt":"2022-08-11T17:29:59","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nknews.org\/pro\/?p=2198167"},"modified":"2023-04-05T16:11:45","modified_gmt":"2023-04-05T07:11:45","slug":"south-korea-and-india-enjoy-growing-ties-but-will-yoon-prioritize-new-delhi","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/koreapro.org\/2022\/08\/south-korea-and-india-enjoy-growing-ties-but-will-yoon-prioritize-new-delhi\/","title":{"rendered":"South Korea and India enjoy growing ties. But will Yoon prioritize New Delhi?"},"content":{"rendered":"
India has become an increasingly important partner for South Korea in the past few years. This became particularly apparent under former president Moon Jae-in\u2019s New Southern Policy, which aimed to elevate South Korea\u2019s ties with Southeast Asian nations and India.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n Although the Moon government made efforts to strengthen the relationship with New Delhi, much is left to be done. With the inauguration of the Yoon Suk-yeol administration and the upcoming 50-year anniversary of the establishment of bilateral diplomatic relations, the two countries\u2019 cooperation in trade, investment and security will likely continue to accelerate.<\/span><\/p>\n Even so, Seoul and New Delhi don\u2019t always see eye to eye when it comes to big geopolitical questions like how to counter China\u2019s rise, and that could complicate their relationship in the coming years.<\/span><\/p>\n ECONOMIC COOPERATION<\/b><\/p>\n Economic cooperation has long been a focal point of the relationship between South Korea and India. Back in 2009, the two countries <\/span>signed<\/span><\/a> the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), aimed at lowering or eliminating import tariffs on a wide range of goods over eight years.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n The agreement ran into trouble in 2015, however, due to India\u2019s large trade deficit. As a result, Seoul and New Delhi have since begun the process of reviewing CEPA to work toward attaining parity in terms of trade balance.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n India is particularly seeking to better <\/span>advance<\/span><\/a> the interests of its local traders and industry in light of trade barriers that Seoul has imposed.\u00a0Negotiations are still ongoing. In January of this year, India\u2019s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal and his South Korean counterpart Yeo Han-koo held a <\/span>meeting<\/span><\/a> to discuss bilateral trade issues.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe two Ministers agreed with the spirit of openness to address difficulties expressed by industry from both sides and instructed their respective negotiating teams to meet on a regular basis to conclude the CEPA upgradation process negotiations as soon as possible in a time-bound manner,\u201d <\/span>the joint statement<\/span><\/a> issued after the dialogue stated.<\/span><\/p>\n