On July 28, Minister of Foreign Affairs Cho Hyun held his first telephone conversation, which also served as a courtesy call following his inauguration, with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar. The two Ministers exchanged views on Korea–India relations and ways to further advance mutually-beneficial, substantive cooperation.

Minister Cho reaffirmed the Korean government’s strong commitment to strengthening bilateral ties with India, which had already been conveyed during the summit between the leaders of the two countries held on June 17 on the margins of the G7 Summit in Canada and the visit to India by the special presidential envoys from July 16 to 18. Minister Cho also proposed that the two sides further invigorate high-level exchanges and continue efforts to deepen practical, mutually-beneficial cooperation.

Minister Jaishankar, with whom Minister Cho had developed personal ties during his tenure as Ambassador to India, congratulated Minister Cho on his inauguration and expressed hope to work together to further elevate the Korea–India Special Strategic Partnership which marks its 10th anniversary this year, and to expand the two countries’ strategic economic cooperation, which holds significant potential.

The two Ministers shared the view that it is necessary to actively broaden the horizons of Korea–India strategic cooperation and agreed to maintain close bilateral communication at the foreign ministerial level.