India, South Korea sign trade, cooperation deals

New Delhi and Seoul sign several cooperation pacts and set a target of nearly doubling their bilateral trade as South Korean president confers with top Indian dignitaries.

Keen to upgrade their bilateral relations to a “strategic partnership,” the two countries agreed Monday to create a framework for bilateral civil nuclear cooperation and signed agreements ranging from peaceful uses of the outer space to cooperation in information technology and the transfer of convicted criminals.

Four accords were signed by the foreign ministers of both countries in the presence of the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak, on a four-day official tour of India, and the Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh in New Delhi.

The two states also set a target of nearly doubling their $16 billion bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2014 and accelerating cooperation in fields such as combating maritime piracy and joint development of military hardware.

Singh and Lee held discussions on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues, including trade and UN reforms. Both agreed to set up a fund of $10 million (with each side contributing $5 million) to promote bilateral research ventures.

Singh, eager for more South Korean investment in manufacturing and infrastructural sectors, assured Lee that his government was doing everything possible to fast-track the $12 billion South Korean Posco steel project at Jagatsinghpur district in Orissa, the single largest foreign direct investment in India.

President Lee also met top Indian leaders including, Vice-President Mohammad Hamid Ansari, chairperson of the India’s ruling United Progressive Alliance Sonia Gandhi and Opposition leader Sushma Swaraj.