Ministerial-level Defence dialogue between India and South Korea held in New Delhi

Ministerial-level
Defence dialogue between India and South Korea was held in New Delhi today.
Defence Minister Rajnath Singh and Minister of National Defence of South Korea
Jeong Kyeong-doo held the meeting. Chief of Defence Staff General Bipin Rawat,
Army Chief General Manoj Naravane and Navy Chief Admiral Karambir Singh were
also present in the meeting.

Rajnath Singh
said, the talks today were extremely fruitful and aimed at further deepening
bilateral defence cooperation. He said, defence engagements between India and
South Korea have made immense progress in recent years and India’s Indo-Pacific
vision shares many commonalities with South Korea’s New Southern Policy.

The Minister
said, India and South Korea recognized that unity and centrality of ASEAN must
be a key element in developing an Indo-Pacific vision. He said, the Defence
Industry cooperation has been one of the most vibrant aspect of bilateral
defence cooperation between the two countries and the leaders today exchanged
the Road map on Defence Industries cooperation which includes a list of
possible areas of cooperation.

He added
saying, he looks forward to investment by South Korean companies in Indian
defence corridors. He said, the Defence Corridors present an excellent
opportunity for South Korean industries to establish their manufacturing units,
benefit from the skilled and economical labor force, natural resources and
tailored incentives.

The Minister
said, The theme of DefExpo-2020 in Lucknow is ‘Digital
Transformation of Defence’ and India and South Korea recognize the influence of
Artificial Intelligence and digital technology in defence sector. He said, both
nations are ready to leverage mutual strengths in digital applications and
other advanced technologies.