1. Foreign Minister Kang Kyung-wha, together with External Affairs Minister of the Republic of India Swaraj, held the ninth meeting of the Republic of Korea-Republic of India foreign ministerial joint committee in New Delhi, India, on December 19. In the meeting, the two Ministers reviewed the progress in the bilateral relations and discussed a broad range of matters, including the defense industry, economy, science, technology, and people-to-people and cultural exchanges, as well as issues concerning the Korean Peninsula, different regions of the world and the global community.

2. The two Ministers noted with appreciation that President Moon Jae-in’s visit to India in July and that by First Lady Kim Jung-sook in November had helped bring the friendly and cooperative relations between the two countries to the highest level ever; and agreed to further enhance "the special strategic partnership" between the two countries on the basis of synergy between President Moon’s New Southern Policy and Prime Minister Modi’s Act East policy.

3. The two Ministers agreed to continue holding high-level exchanges between the two countries and to seek exchanges and close cooperation between police and other government agencies as well as the parliaments of the two countries.

4. The two Ministers, both recognizing the importance of bilateral cooperation on the defense industry, agreed to continue consultations on ways to increase cooperation in the field, including exporting the ROK’s outstanding defense products to India.

5. In a bid to further consolidate the foundation of the bilateral relations, the two Ministers agreed to boost people-to-people exchanges, including by promoting the immigration-related convenience for ROK nationals in India and pursuing exchanges of visits between journalists of the two countries. They also discussed cultural exchanges and cooperation, including joint film production.

6. The two Ministers, taking note of the great potential for bilateral cooperation between the two countries and their mutually complementary economic structures, exchanged views on various ways to step up substantive cooperation: Among them were concluding as soon as possible the negotiations on the improvement of the ROK-India comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA); moving forward with development cooperation on India’s infrastructure; and promoting cooperation in science, technology and other future-oriented areas, as well as on energy, aerospace, and maritime affairs.

7. The two Ministers discussed in depth the situation on the Korean Peninsula, agreeing to communicate and cooperate closely with each other toward a complete denuclearization and the establishment of a permanent peace on the Korean Peninsula. Minister Swaraj, welcoming the ROK government’s efforts for peace on the Korean Peninsula, expressed willingness to continue rendering support.

° The two sides agreed to work together for regional peace and prosperity at multilateral consultative mechanisms of the region, such as the East Asia Summit (EAS) and the ASEAN Regional Forum (ARF), as well as the Indian Ocean Rim Association (IORA), which the ROK had recently joined as one of its Dialogue Partners; and to continue working closely together on such global security issues as terrorism response and cybersecurity, as well at the UN and on other international stages.

8. The ninth meeting of the ROK-India foreign ministerial joint committee, which came four years after the one held in December 2014, is seen to have served as an opportunity to review the progress in the follow-up on what had been agreed upon by the leaders of the two countries at their summit talks in July; to give an impetus to the friendly and cooperative ties between the two countries; and to move forward substantive cooperation in individual sectors.

* unofficial translation