As South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-Koo met with India’s Commerce and Industry Minister Piyush Goyal in New Delhi. The two countries agreed to set a $50 billion bilateral trade objective by 2030.
The two ministers engaged in extensive discussions on a wide range of bilateral trade and investment issues. They also agreed to give the Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CEPA) upgradation talks a boost, as well as foster extended B2B trade and investment exchanges between the two countries’ business leaders, according to a statement from the Commerce and Industry Ministry.
The two ministers agreed to address issues raised by industry on both sides, and instructed their respective negotiating teams to meet on a regular basis in order to complete the CEPA upgradation negotiations as quickly as possible, on a timetable, and with the support of relevant stakeholders, in order to meet the $50 billion target set at the summit meeting in 2018.
These frequent meetings will provide as a forum for discussing the challenges facing the business community in both nations, as well as new trade-related topics such as supply chain resilience. The ministers decided to increase bilateral trade in order to achieve growth in a fair and balanced way that benefits both parties.
According to figures from South Korea’s Ministry of Commerce, Industry, and Energy, bilateral trade reached $10.97 billion in the first half of 2021, up 38% from the same time the previous year. South Korea’s exports to India climbed 38.5 percent ($7.4 billion), while imports increased 37.4% ($3.6 billion), resulting in a $3.8 billion trade surplus.
