India and South Korea on Tuesday inked seven agreements, including on avoidance of double taxation and formalising consultations between National Security Councils of the two nations, to boost bilateral ties. The agreements were signed after Prime Minister Narendra Modi held talks with South Korean President Park Geun-hye in Seoul. The India-South Korea Double Taxation Avoidance Convention signed in 1985 has been revised with a view to avoiding the burden of double taxation on taxpayers in the two countries. [related-post] The two nations also agreed to cooperate in audio-visual co-production. The agreement in this regard is being signed under the provisions of India-South Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and would enable co-production of films, animation and broadcasting programmes. The pact would enable opportunities for collaboration between Indian and Korean film industries, and facilitate collaboration and exchange. The two nations also signed an MOU for cooperation between the National Security Council Secretariat of India and the Office of National Security of South Korea. This would formalise consultations between National Security Councils of the two countries in a number of areas. Another MOU was signed between the Ministry of Power and the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of South Korea on cooperation in the field of electric power development and new energy industries. The agreement envisages cooperation in areas such as renewable energy, smart grids and power information and technology, transmission and distribution of electric power, energy efficiency and storage system. The two nations also signed an MoU to strengthen and encourage cooperation on youth matters through participation in events and activities through exchanges, international conferences, seminars, youth camps, festivals etc. The two sides also signed Framework of Cooperation (FOC) in the Field of Road Transport and Highways. The FOC envisages cooperation in areas including road policies, design and construction, road operation, road management and safety, intelligent transport systems and electronic toll collection systems. The MoU on cooperation between the two countries in the fields of maritime transport and logistics including through sharing of technologies, information and experiences, the training of seafarers, exchange of experts and port operations etc was also signed.
