India and South Korea signed agreements on increasing cultural exchange and flow of people between the two countries during the 16th India-Korea Strategic Dialogue held in New Delhi last week.
The two countries have decided to give high priority to cultural and tourism exchange. On agenda is increasing in the next one year the total number of tourists to 1 million; the total number of exchange of students to 5,000, with special focus on science and technology; and the number of flights between India and South Korea to 150 times a week.
The agreement on increasing the number of flights also falls in line with India’s aspiration and forecasts for it to become the third biggest air transport market by the next decade.
Joint statement from the 16th India -Korea Strategic Dialogue held in New Delhi from 30th November to 1st December which was co-convened by Ananta Aspen centre and the Seoul Forum for International Affairs #mea #indiakorea pic.twitter.com/3PToGyEzco
— India in ROK (@IndiainROK) December 7, 2017
The joint statement said “first and foremost” the two countries want to maximize mutual efforts to upgrade the existing India-Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to increase investment and trade. In April, the two countries signed an agreement on shipbuilding as well.
South Korea wants India to streamline business licenses, approval procedures and labor laws for foreign investors, while India wants Korea’s involvement in campaigns like Clean India, Digital India, Smart Cities and Clean Toilets, apart from electric vehicles.
Commerce and Industry Minister Suresh Prabhu visited Seoul in September 2017 to participate in the ministerial review of CEPA with his Korean counterpart Hyun Chong Kim. They spoke about increasing free trade between the two countries, an issue that was also discussed this time.