Transcript of Special Briefing by MEA on the State Visit of President of the Republic of Korea to India (April 20, 2026)

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Good afternoon, ladies and gentlemen. I welcome you to this special press briefing by Secretary (East) Shri P. Kumaran on the ongoing State Visit of the President of South Korea. Joining us for this briefing, assisting him, we have our Ambassador to South Korea, Shri Gaurang Lal Das, as also our Joint Secretary (East Asia) Shri Sujit Ghosh. With that, I invite Secretary (East) to make his initial remarks. Sir.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Good afternoon, dear friends from the media. At the invitation of Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi Ji, H.E. President Lee Jae Myung of the Republic of Korea is on a State Visit to India. The visit started last evening and will conclude tomorrow. This is his first visit to India and comes within a year of his assuming the presidency of the Republic of Korea in June last year.

President Lee is accompanied by First Lady Kim Hea Kyung along with a high-level ministerial and official delegation, as well as a high-level business delegation. This was the third meeting between Prime Minister Modi and President Lee Jae Myung. They had earlier met twice on the sidelines of international events: the G7 Summit in Canada in June 2025 and the G20 Summit in South Africa in November last year.

President Lee's visit started last evening and soon after his arrival, EAM called on the President. This morning, he was given a ceremonial welcome in the forecourt of Rashtrapati Bhavan. Subsequently, President Lee paid his respects at the Raj Ghat.

Prime Minister Modi and President Lee held wide-ranging and substantive discussions at Hyderabad House today, both in restricted and delegation-level formats. They laid out an ambitious agenda for future engagement between the two countries. The meeting provided both the leaders an opportunity to review progress across key pillars of our Special Strategic Partnership. Both sides have decided to enhance economic cooperation, and the new areas of cooperation include shipbuilding, artificial intelligence, semiconductors, critical minerals, supply chain resilience, and diversification.

The two sides also decided to further strengthen people-to-people ties. There was an alignment of views on several regional and global issues of interest to both sides, particularly in the Indo-Pacific. Prime Minister Modi and President Lee held extensive interactions with business leaders and CEOs of both sides over a working lunch this afternoon.

Later, President Lee is slated to participate in the India-ROK Business Forum at Bharat Mandapam, where he will interact with 300 business leaders from both sides. Apart from these, our teams organized several events on the sidelines, including the inaugural India-ROK Financial Cooperation Forum in Delhi and the India-ROK Space Day in Bengaluru today.

Insofar as deliverables are concerned, several G2G and B2B MoUs were agreed upon and signed in areas pertaining to the economy, trade, steel, shipping and maritime cooperation, environment, science and technology, climate change, financial cooperation, education, culture and creative industries, among others. We have issued four joint statements: the India-ROK Joint Strategic Vision-this is comprehensive in scope and forward-looking in terms of ambition, charting the roadmap for the overall bilateral relationship, as well as outlining our joint positions on various regional and global issues of mutual concern.

Shipbuilding cooperation is a key pillar of our bilateral partnership. We have adopted a comprehensive framework for partnership in shipbuilding, shipping, and maritime logistics, encompassing the agreed initiatives as well as the ambition of both sides in the shipbuilding sector. We also have a joint statement on cooperation and sustainability, outlining our common approach on climate change, maritime, and Arctic-related issues. We have a joint statement on energy resource security to advance our energy resource trade and investment cooperation through established frameworks and to work together to strengthen energy resource supply chain resilience.

Both leaders reached important agreements and consensus today to strengthen the political foundation of our ties. It was agreed to hold summit meetings and ministerial exchanges with greater regularity. We launched an India-ROK Industrial Cooperation Committee in which our two ministers responsible for industries would explore cooperation in a number of priority industries including semiconductors, critical and emerging technologies, clean energy, industrial partnerships, among others.

We also announced the launch of a Distinguished Visitors' Program to invite eminent Korean lawmakers and eminent personalities for familiarization with the New India. ROK has also initiated a similar program on their side for young diplomats and government officials. We are happy to share that ROK has decided to join the Indo-Pacific Oceans' Initiative (IPOI), which is expected to add more substance to our maritime cooperation. We have also launched a bilateral Economic Security Dialogue to be led by Deputy NSAs on the two sides. This will help our countries to achieve trade diversification, technology collaboration, and resilience in vital supply chains.

In order to achieve mutually beneficial trade and achieve the ambition of a $50 billion trade target by 2030, we have adopted a joint declaration on resuming negotiations to upgrade the CEPA between the two countries. Both sides are targeting early conclusion of these negotiations and for them to address the issue of trade imbalance, among other things. On financial cooperation, we are happy to announce the interlinking of our digital payment systems. It was also agreed to enhance cooperation between our SMEs, which serve as the backbone of our supply chains and innovation on both sides.

We also agreed to launch an India-ROK Digital Bridge to focus on AI, semiconductors, and other emerging technologies. We also signed an MoU under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. On sustainability, we are launching a dialogue on important themes such as climate, Arctic, and maritime cooperation. Korea announced its decision to join the International Solar Alliance, and we have conveyed India's decision to join the Global Green Growth In stitute headquartered in Korea.

People-to-people ties and mutual admiration for each others' culture are at the heart of the people-to-people connections between the two countries. We are extending our Cultural Exchange Program until 2030, and 2028-29 will be commemorated as the Year of India-ROK Friendship by organizing a range of activities. In this connection, we also signed an MoU in cultural and creative industries to bring synergy to the growing global popularity of our creative content industries.

Overall, President Lee's maiden visit has infused new energy and momentum to our Special Strategic Partnership. All the MoUs concluded today reflect the scope and scale of our new ambition. I will stop here and I am happy to take questions. Thank you.

Keshav Padmanabhan, ThePrint: Thank you, spokesperson. Keshav Padmanabhan from ThePrint. I have two questions. One is regarding this joint statement on maritime shipbuilding, this comprehensive framework for it. Could you give us a sense of what was discussed, what are sort of the outcomes that you're looking at from this?

And the second question is on the CEPA negotiations because there've been, I think, 11 rounds of review so far, and now I think there's been movement to conclude this in an early manner. So could you give us whether there was a timeline that the two leaders have decided by which the review negotiations should be concluded and what really are the main issues there? Thank you.

Huma Siddiqui, StratNews Global: Sir, I am Huma Siddiqui from StratNews Global. I have two questions. What does India want to get out of the upgrade of the CEPA?

And my second question is … the balance of trade and taking care of non-tariff barriers by Korea discussed between the two sides?

Siddhant, WION: Hi sir, Siddhant from WION. How much there was discussion on the Hormuz situation by both the leaders? And also, we saw the South Korean President extending his stance to India over the peace in the Korean Peninsula. So what kind of conversation on North Korea's missile program, and of course that becomes a big worry for South Koreans?

Yeshi Seli, Business India: This is Yeshi Seli from Business India. You spoke about … there was talk about energy partnership. Korea is already helping in the energy transition for India. Was the talk today taking that further or there were other tie-ups in this sector that were talked about? And also the trade is expected to be around 50 billion, right, by 2030? So, what are the factors which are going to contribute to arriving at this figure?

Vishu, ANI: Hello sir, this is Vishu from ANI. I want to ask about CEPA, what all issues will be addressed in this, including trade imbalance, besides that what all issues will be addressed? And in addition to that, my second question would be about what was discussed about defense cooperation. Can you give us details about that?

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Thank you. Let me start with the shipbuilding MOU. There are a number of areas that we discussed at the level of leaders. Broadly, there is an acknowledgment that both countries are rich in terms of maritime tradition, share a number of common interests and complementary strengths. Korea has technology, it has globally acknowledged strengths in the area of shipbuilding, and we offer scale and are very eager to cooperate with them to expand our own ability to produce various kinds of vessels, including next-generation vessels and green vessels.

Some of our ambition is reflected in the Maritime Amrit Kaal 2047 vision, and that summarizes the opportunities available for long-term collaboration with various partners, including with the ROK. And today's agreement is in the nature of a comprehensive framework that I have mentioned earlier in my remarks.

Several initiatives have been taken as a part of this at the level of industries too. One includes a non-binding MOU between the Korean shipbuilder HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore, HDKSOE, the identified cluster developer and facilitator. The capital provider is Maritime Development Fund for joint development, financing, implementation, and operation of a large greenfield shipyard in Southern India. We will be putting out further details in the coming days.

Overall, the emphasis is on upgrading existing shipyards, including developing block fabrication facilities and setting up a new dry dock to construct large and specialized vessels. In addition to setting up infrastructure and facilities, we are also looking at financing and skill training. KOICA, Korea International Cooperation Agency, will be partnering with the Ministry of Port, Shipping and Waterways to help with the skill training program, especially in the area of shipbuilding.

There will be also cooperation in developing port infrastructure, knowledge sharing, training our workers, and financing will be another area where the Maritime Development Fund and the Korean side's development partnership funds would be used for advancing this program. We are also looking at jointly designing, manufacturing, and supporting next-generation conventional and autonomous maritime and port cranes. So there is a whole range of areas that are covered by this MOU.

Let me move on to CEPA upgradation. As you know, the dialogue has been going on for several years. There have been eleven rounds of discussions that have been held. And there are a number of areas. Some of you mentioned some of the obvious areas, one is the trade imbalance. The CEPA, as you know, came into force in 2010. At that time, the bilateral trade was in the range of 14 billion. Today, it is close to 27 billion, but it is quite unbalanced in the sense that our exports are in the range of about 6 and a half billion, while Korea's is about 18 and a half billion.

So there is a need to rebalance the CEPA, try and find ways to increase our exports to match that of, you know, Korean exports. Non-tariff barriers are also a subject, as you would expect in all FTA negotiations. Because it is CEPA, we are also looking at enhancing investment, finding ways to facilitate investment, and also enhance services exports from India, an area of particular strength for us. So, all these would be covered. I mean, there is nothing new there in terms of what we will be discussing. It will cover the entire range of trade, investment, and services.

You'd asked about, I think Siddhant had asked about the Hormuz situation. Yes, there was a general discussion in the sense of the upheaval caused by, you know, geopolitical contestations, conflicts, both in Ukraine-Russia and in the Gulf region. Overall, it was agreed that we should cooperate to try and strengthen peace and security and strengthen multilateral institutions. It was seen that India, as a leader of the Global South, would be a useful partner for Korea to interact with and to develop positions that broadly represent global opinion.

And, in that context, as you would see from the joint statement, the President of Korea appreciated our support for denuclearization of the Korean Peninsula. There was also a brief discussion about non-proliferation and cooperating in the area of making sure that sensitive technologies do not fall in the hands of non-state actors and other kinds of sanctioned entities.

Energy transition, I think let me talk about the trade target of 50 billion first. We've seen that in the first wave of Korean investments coming into India, mostly large companies like Samsung, Hyundai, etc., have invested in India. That has, in some ways, driven trade in the first phase. The second phase of investments and collaboration that we're looking at will be focused on SMEs, small and medium enterprises.

We are hoping that if more SMEs come into India from Korea, in fact, the President particularly referred to the fact that he's surprised that there are only about 700 Korean companies in India and that he would like to see a much bigger number, perhaps 10 times that number. And therefore, a number of issues that they would like resolved in terms of facilitation of investment by SMEs, the kind of expectations that SMEs have when they invest outside Korea, those were all areas that were discussed. And it was felt that the CEPA upgradation and the second wave of investments from Korea involving MSMEs would drive the trade growth and help us reach the target of 50 billion in the coming years.

Energy transition has a few areas of interest for us. There were two-three particular areas of interest that were discussed. Nuclear energy was one. Korea has very good technology for nuclear power plants. SMRs are an area of interest for both sides and there was broad agreement that we should cooperate in developing small modular reactors.

There was also a discussion on developing battery technologies together, trying and benefiting from each other's knowledge and experience in this area, and to work on developing next-generation batteries with or without critical minerals and also for working on battery storage technologies so that grid stability can be achieved using renewable technologies. Defense cooperation is another important area, as you had mentioned. There are a number of areas where we already collaborate in.

Korea supplies K9 Vajra systems, the anti-aircraft systems. There is already two phases of supply that have happened. We're looking at the third phase which involves a greater technology transfer. We're also looking at other kinds of anti-aircraft guns and missile systems. We are also looking at co-development and technology transfer, co-design, etc., of new generation defense systems.

We are also looking at collaborating in terms of procurement of more kinds of defense hardware, telecom equipment, cyber security, and, yeah, I think that's all.

We are also looking at developing a Korea-India Defense Accelerator, KIND-X, to try and support defense startups on the basis of the roadmap 2020 that we have agreed upon already a few years ago.

This will help us support defense industries, startups, and research institutions to develop new kinds of defense technology. So broadly, these are the areas that we discussed. Thank you.

Neeraj, News18 India: Neeraj News18 India se. Aaj humne dekha ki Hyderabad House mein Pradhan Mantri aur Rashtrapati ne vriksharopan bhi kiya. Kya symbolic message dene ki koshish ki gayi hai isse aur ek dusra sawal yeh hai ki CEPA ke tehat aapne bataya ki Bharat ka focus hai ki export ko badhaya jaye Korea mein toh kin-kin chetron mein hum log focus kar rahe hain taaki trade imbalance jo hai woh balance ki disha mein jaye.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Neeraj from News18 India. Today we saw that at Hyderabad House, the Prime Minister and the President also took part in a tree plantation activity. What symbolic message was intended through this?

And my second question is: under CEPA, you mentioned that India is focusing on increasing exports to Korea. Which sectors are we focusing on so that the trade imbalance can move towards a more balanced position?

Brahma Prakash Dubey, Zee News: Sir, this side Brahma Prakash Dubey from Zee News. Sir, mera sawal hai ki jo strategic bhagidari ki baat kahi hai dono netaon ne toh kya isme defense ko lekar bhi kuch bhagidari hai kuch baat-cheet hui hai? Aur doosra jo Indo-Pacific ka zikr bhi press statement mein kiya hai ki safe Indo-Pacific ko lekar toh usko lekar kis tarah se dono desh kaam karenge kuch detail aap de saken. Thank you.

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, Brahma Prakash Dubey from Zee News. My question is: both leaders have spoken about a strategic partnership-does this also include any cooperation in defense? Were there any discussions on that?

Secondly, the press statement also mentioned a safe Indo-Pacific. How will the two countries work together on this? Could you please provide some details? Thank you.

Akhilesh Suman, DD News: Sir, main Akhilesh Suman hoon DD News se. Pashchim Asia ki sthiti par kya dono netaon ke beech mein koi baat-cheet hui? Kyunki isse supply chain buri tarah prabhavit hua hai. Blockade, counter-blockade, baat-cheet vifal ho gayi America aur Iran ke beech mein. Toh kya kis tarike se dono netaon ke beech mein is par baat hui, koi joint strategy iske baare mein?

[Approximate Translation: Question in Hindi] Sir, I am Akhilesh Suman from DD News. My question is: was there any discussion between the two leaders on the situation in West Asia, especially since it has severely affected supply chains? With blockade and counter-blockade situations, and talks between the United States and Iran failing, was there any discussion on this issue between the two leaders? Was there any kind of joint strategy considered?

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Aapne tree planting ke baare mein poocha. Tree planting jaise ki aapne bataya ek symbolic initiative tha. Jo tree choose kiya gaya tha is initiative ke liye woh Sita-Ashok tree ka ek sapling tha. Aur humne pehle bhi karaya hai visiting leaders se sapling planting ka opportunity. Aur humari understanding yeh hai ki yeh sapling ko shift kiya jayega baad mein Queen Heo Memorial Park Ayodhya mein, jo ki Princess Suriratna jo India se Korea gayi thi aur ek Korean Prince Suro se unhone shaadi kiya tha aur kaafi Koreans apne aap ko Queen Suriratna ke descendants maante hain, especially Gimhae province mein. Toh unki jo journey thi usko represent karne ke liye woh sapling ko wahan plant kiya jayega aur ek tarah se people-to-people links aur ancestral links ko emphasize karne ke liye initiative plan kiya gaya hai.

Export focus maine kaafi detail mein aapko mere first section of the answers mein bataya tha. Kaafi deep analysis chalegi aur jo Industrial Cooperation committee aaj announce ki gayi hai aur jiski meetings hongi aage se.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] You asked about the tree planting. As you mentioned, it was a symbolic initiative. The tree chosen for this was a sapling of the Sita Ashok tree. We have also previously given visiting leaders the opportunity to plant saplings.

Our understanding is that this sapling will later be relocated to the Queen Heo Memorial Park in Ayodhya. This is linked to Princess Suriratna, who is believed to have traveled from India to Korea and married King Suro, and many Koreans-especially in the Gimhae region-consider themselves descendants of Queen Suriratna. So, the sapling will be planted there to represent that journey and to emphasize people-to-people and ancestral connections.

Regarding the export focus, I had already explained this in some detail in the first part of my response. There will be a deeper analysis going forward, and the Industrial Cooperation Committee that was announced today will hold meetings where trade and investment issues will be discussed in detail.

What will happen is trade and investment will be discussed in detail on that. CEPA upgradation ka there is a separate negotiating channel for that, but in addition to trade and investment there will be discussions on all kinds of aspects related to that plus also energy, technology etc. and green energy. So there are a lot of areas that are related to that. I think we will try and figure out which areas will be particularly targeted for enhancing our exports as we proceed into those discussions.

Strategic partnership, aapne broadly poocha tha ki strategic partnership ko expand karne ke liye kis kis area mein, woh toh pura ka pura joint statement is about that. So I'm not sure there is much to expand on that. The whole of the joint statement will be the answer to your question.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] On your question about expanding the strategic partnership across various areas-this has been comprehensively covered in the joint statement itself. So I'm not sure there is much to expand on that. The whole of the joint statement will be the answer to your question.

On Gulf crisis, there was no specific discussion on on the solution to the problem. We were mostly focused on discussing with each other, understanding the implications of the crisis in the Gulf, how to deal with implications for us in terms of food security, energy security, disruptions in the chemicals market, fuels market and also fertilizers market and how to introduce resilience in terms of supplies for us. So, that was broadly the focus of the discussions. And to collaborate with like-minded countries in as close a way as possible to coordinate positions et cetera in multilateral fora.

Shri Gourangalal Das: Sir, I think broadly the issues have been covered. On trade, there was an acknowledgement that it needs to be made more balanced and it also has to have a wider scope than simply tariff negotiations because a lot of the new trade agreements that have been concluded recently by India and also with many other countries that Korea is pursuing are involved with many non-tariff related issues.

Today, for instance, digital trade is very much a significant component of trade that countries are doing. You look at the supply chain resilience, that figures very much as a part of trade agenda. So, there are new issues which are coming up and it is necessary for India-Korea to keep that changing global perspective in mind when we look at trade negotiations. So, I think that has been the approach basically agreed on by the two sides, that this is the way forward to go.

And then of course, you might have already heard the two leaders speak about a more ambitious timeline for when we want to conclude the negotiations. The expectation is that within a year or so, we should be able to wrap up the negotiations. So, I think it's a more ambitious kind of CEPA, so let's not just look at the simple tariff negotiations, it's about a broader partnership that will involve trade and also non-tariff related trade matters. So, that's the aspect about the trade, sir.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Thank you, Gaurang. In fact, one of the points that came up for discussion is that what is going to be different this time since we've already gone through 11 rounds? And EAM when he called on President Lee, explained to him that the mood in India is different right now. Between 2010 and now, especially in the last two-three years, we've concluded several FTAs and therefore, the ability of India to conclude FTAs now is much, much higher today than for example three years ago. And therefore, our ambitions will be suitably reflective of that, as the Ambassador mentioned. So that will be very, very clearly reflected in the way we go ahead with the CEPA 2.0, as some have referred to. And the Industrial Cooperation Committee will discuss a number of areas in addition to CEPA upgradation, as I mentioned, trade, investment, industrial cooperation especially in sensitive new age industries, energy, critical minerals et cetera. So, there is a lot of areas where we'll be discussing.

We also are looking to enhance our steel exports and steel cooperation by sharing Korean technology, especially in the area of sustainable or green steel. We are having a steel dialogue to take this forward and perhaps a steel forum between industries on the two sides. The Korean industry POSCO is going to invest in a large steel making facility in India. There is also talk about finding ways to collaborate more in electronics, semiconductors, displays et cetera. The list is fairly long. We are looking at every area possible to try and enhance partnerships and if possible, enhance exports.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Just to add few things. Neeraj, jo aapne kaha ki ye vriksharopan jo hua, ye Sita Ashok ped hai, aur aapko main bata doon ki ye Uttar Pradesh ka rajya vriksh hai Sita Ashok, isko yahan par se Ayodhya le jaya jayega.

[Approximate Translation: Answer in Hindi] Just to add a few things-Neeraj, as you mentioned, the tree planted was the Sita Ashok tree. Let me also inform you that Sita Ashok is the state tree of Uttar Pradesh, and this sapling will be taken from here to Ayodhya.

Baaki, the joint statement will be put up on our website soon, as also please do refer to the 15 outcomes that have been or will be posted on our X handles as also the website. That will give you, you know, the length and breadth of this state visit in terms of all that we've been able to achieve. With that, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): Sorry, I just wanted to highlight one more point. There was a fairly vibrant discussion on cooperation in the area of creative industries with particular reference to gaming. PM had mentioned that both sides are very strong on cultural output, and India is a treasure house of ancient and new age stories on which games can be developed and we can collaborate in the area of developing games, benefit from Korean technology and special effect capabilities.

He said there is a strong cultural underpinning to this desire to develop gaming industries on both sides and that it is not just a casual gaming, casual game-playing kind of initiative or a time-pass initiative and that there is this very strong cultural element to this. PM also invited South Korea to participate in the next edition of the WAVES event to try and develop greater partnership between businesses on both sides.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you sir.

With that, ladies and gentlemen, thank you very much for your presence. Thank you.

Shri P. Kumaran, Secretary (East): (inaudible) to visit Korea at the earliest opportunity. I seem to have missed out on that. And he said perhaps that can serve as the opportunity to put a final stamp of conclusion on the upgraded CEPA and to sign it during his visit to Korea.

Shri Randhir Jaiswal, Official Spokesperson: Thank you.

New Delhi
April 20, 2026