South Korea President Moon Jae-in lauds India ties before PM Modi’s visit

Seoul, Feb 21: South Korean President Moon Jae-in on Wednesday, February 20, sought efforts to further expand his country's bilateral cooperation with India ahead of Prime Minister Narendra Modi's two-day visit to the East Asian nation starting Thursday, February 21.

In a special contribution to Times of India, President Moon said: "We will spur future cooperation. India is home to a world-class pool of ICT professionals and an innovative business ecosystem in addition to basic science and technology. Korea has advanced information and communication technology as well as manufacturing and commercialization capabilities."

He also wrote that if the two Asian powers can combine their strengths harmoniously, they will be able to lead the Fourth Industrial Revolution.

Moon will meet Modi over a bilateral summit in the South Korean capital on Friday, February 22. This is Modi's second visit to South Korea since he took over the office of the prime minister in 2014. He visited the country in May 2015. Moon himself came to India on his first state visit in July last year.

Relating the 150th birth anniversary of Mahatma Gandhi with South Korea's centenary celebration of the establishment of its provisional government and the March 1 Independence Movement, Moon said it was "truly meaningful" to have Modi as the first state guest of Korea in 2019.

Moon said while the two countries' leaderships' agreement over expanding bilateral cooperation may have already shown result as their bilateral trade touched a volume worth USD 21.5 billion last year, he also thanked New Delhi for backing Seoul's efforts to denuclearise North Korea and give peace a chance in the Korean Peninsula.