File Photo: External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj (Agence France- Presse)
Ahead of External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj visit, South Korea today said it was time to think "big" and take "bold" initiatives to boost bilateral ties and listed manufacturing, infrastructure and tourism as key sectors for Korean investment in India.
Hailing NDA government's initiative to revitalise economic growth, South Korean Ambassador Joongyu Lee said his country was keen also keen to participate in new government's 'Make-in-India' and 'Smart Cities' initiatives.
"A strong political leadership under Prime Minister Narendra Modi is now in the helm of affairs. He has been redefining the contours of India's bilateral trade and investment," the Ambassador said.
Pointing out that India- South Korea trade, which stood at 17 billion US dollars last year, has great potential, the Ambassador said "the time is quite opportune to think big and take "bold" initiatives.
According to some estimates, the trade potential is 100 billion US dollars, the Ambassador said.
Sushma Swaraj will travel to Seoul later this month to hold Joint Commission meeting with her South Korean counterpart during which the two sides will discuss key bilateral issues, including trade and civil nuclear cooperation.
The envoy said India was set to emerge as an attractive investment destination and South Korea was interested in strengthening the trade ties between the two countries.
Talking about issues relating to security, he said it was time to articulate the shared concerns and calibrate the strategy on security challenges facing the Asia-Pacific region.
"Asia-Pacific is one of the most dynamic and thriving regions in the world today. Our security, stability and prosperity are anchored in the region. So, our two countries have common interest in peace and stability of the region," the South Korean Ambassador had said addressing a seminar on "India and Korea: New prospects for bilateral cooperation" last evening.
"We all have seen the futility of block politics during the protracted Cold War period. The need of the hour is to put in place a comprehensive cooperative mechanism which swears by mutual accommodation.
"The time has come for all regional stakeholder to work together to build a regional security architecture which is open, transparent and inclusive," he said.
The Ambassador said "while Korea-India relations have flourished over the years, we have not been able to evolve our respective roles in the rapidly changing security dynamics of the region to the level which is genuinely expected from strategic partners."