India, Korea finetune defence pact

The two ministers signed the agreement on visa exemption after talks on a range of bilateral and international issues — including political, trade and investment, energy cooperation, defence, civil aviation, tourism, and science and technology.

The two sides also endorsed the texts of two agreements on cooperation in customs, and defence and logistics, which will be signed shortly, the MEA spokesperson said.

During talks, the ministers agreed that both sides should develop the strategic dimension of their partnership as there was a considerable overlap in their strategic interests, including areas such as the security of sea lanes.

They noted that trade between the two nations had grown rapidly since the visit of Korean President Roh Moo-Hyun here last October. Bilateral trade had risen by about 30 per cent over the last year and had crossed the $5-billion mark which the two sides felt had the potential to go up to $10 billion by 2008. This target was set during Roh’s visit.

The flow of investment from South Korea has picked up and there has been a significant increase in the number of Korean companies investing in India over the years.

Posco, one of the largest producers of steel in the world, signed an MoU with the Orissa government in June for setting up an integrated steel plant in the state. This is one of the biggest FDI projects in India with an estimated investment of $12 billion.

Singh conveyed India’s interest in joining the International Thermonuclear Experimental Reactor (ITER) project and sought South Korea’s support for this. Ban agreed to consider the request and said he would consult with other partners in project.