On May 11, the Ministry of Trade held an expert meeting chaired by Minister Kim Jeong-kwan to discuss ways to expand economic cooperation with India. This meeting was organized to review the implementation direction of economic achievements following President Lee Jae-myung's state visit to India from April 19 to 21.
India, with a population of approximately 1.43 billion, is the world’s sixth-largest economy, with an estimated GDP of around $4.15 trillion. The trade volume between Korea and India stands at about $25 billion annually, with both leaders aiming to increase this to $50 billion by 2030. Additionally, they plan to expedite negotiations to improve the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) between the two nations.
The meeting included experts from major economic research institutions such as the Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP), Korea Institute for Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET), Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Korea International Trade Association, and Korea Industrial Complex Corporation. They engaged in in-depth discussions on various topics, including plans for establishing dedicated industrial complexes for Korean companies in India, examples of economic cooperation policies from other countries, structural analysis and responses to the trade deficit concerns raised by India regarding Korea, and cooperation strategies in promising sectors.
Experts noted that India is emerging as a key production base and promising market amid the global supply chain restructuring. However, they expressed concerns that the market remains challenging for small and medium-sized enterprises due to infrastructure deficits and complex regulations, which create high entry barriers.
They highlighted the need to alleviate infrastructure and permitting burdens through the establishment of industrial complexes dedicated to Korean companies, as well as the necessity of restructuring supply chains to focus on local processing and domestic sales of intermediate goods, which contribute to India’s trade deficit. They proposed developing India’s production base into a global production and export hub, particularly in promising sectors, while also advocating for a localization strategy for intermediate goods.
The Ministry of Trade plans to actively incorporate the opinions raised during the meeting into policy to enhance the effectiveness of industrial cooperation between the two countries. They also intend to work closely with relevant ministries and agencies to ensure that the outcomes of the state visit are realized promptly.
Minister Kim Jeong-kwan stated, "During the summit, we agreed to establish the Korea-India Industrial Cooperation Committee, the first ministerial-level platform for industrial and resource cooperation between our two countries," adding that several investment and cooperation memorandums of understanding (MOUs) were signed in sectors with high cooperation demand, such as shipbuilding and steel.
He also acknowledged that, "The current level of economic and industrial cooperation between our countries is still insufficient compared to our potential and expectations," urging participants to provide practical policy recommendations based on field experiences and research outcomes.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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