S. Korea, India establish `strategic partnership`

(ATTN: UPDATES throughout with South Korea's announcement)
By Lee Chi-dong
NEW DELHI, Jan. 25 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and India agreed Monday to upgrade
their relations to a "Strategic Partnership" and expand mutual trade volume to
US$30 billion by 2014, South Korea's presidential office, Cheong Wa Dae, said.
The deal came at a summit here between President Lee Myung-bak and Prime Minister
Manmohan Singh, it said.
The emerging economic powers are encouraged by their Comprehensive Economic
Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a de-facto free trade agreement that was signed in
August 2009 and came into force early this year.
"The leaders of the two nations agreed to upgrade bilateral relations to a
Strategic Partnership," Cheong Wa Dae said in a press release. South Korea and
India established a "long-term cooperative partnership for peace and prosperity"
in 2004 that has largely focused on expanding economic cooperation.
The agreement, albeit largely symbolic, reflects the two countries' political
will to seek closer cooperation not only in economy and trade, but also on
political and security issues.
Lee and Singh decided to launch a regular "Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue"
represented by vice foreign ministers in a bid to set up a solid political and
security cooperation system, according to Cheong Wa Dae.
In addition, the leaders agreed to bolster their countries' cooperation in the
defense industry and hold a defense committee meeting in the first half of this
year. South Korea hopes to export its KT-1 basic trainer jet to India, which
industry sources say plans to purchase as many as 60 new trainer planes next
year. A KT-1 jet is priced at about $7 million.
The leaders also set the goal of doubling two-way trade volume between the
emerging economic powers to $30 billion by 2014 through the full implementation
of CEPA, aimed at phasing out tariffs imposed on most trade goods.
"As a new vision for expanding economy and trade cooperation between South Korea
and India, they set a target of increasing mutual trade volume to $30 billion by
2014," it said.
The figure stood at $15.6 billion in 2008, and it is projected to reach $11.4
billion in 2009 due to the global economic crisis and a drop in prices of
naphtha, one of India's main export items to South Korea.
On South Korea's desire for cooperation with India on peaceful nuclear energy
use, the leaders noted the need for the early start of government-level talks on
a related pact, a prerequisite for their joint nuclear power plant construction
project. Consultations are underway between the public nuclear power firms of the
two sides.
Meanwhile, South Korea maintains Strategic Partnerships with the European Union,
Indonesia, Uzbekistan, Kazakhstan, Mexico, Algeria and Romania. Seoul has a
Comprehensive and Strategic Alliance with Washington and a Strategic Cooperative
Partnership with China and Russia.
South Korea has become the ninth nation to have a Strategic Partnership with
India, Cheong Wa Dae said.
lcd@yna.co.kr
(END)