Since Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi was sworn into office in May 2014, New Delhi has actively engaged Seoul as part of its “Act East” foreign policy aimed at deepening integration with Asian countries to the east. 

As an inheritor of the “Look East” policy initiative announced two decades ago, the eastward internationalist stance of the Indian government has been based on a recognition that the center of gravity in global geopolitics and commerce has significantly shifted to Asia. 

To strengthen political ties, the Indian embassy in Seoul organized the visit of Sumitra Mahajan -- speaker of Lok Sabha of the Indian Parliament -- and five parliamentarians to Korea last week. 

“Our two countries’ close commercial and cultural exchanges have continued over the last 70 years,” Mahajan said in a speech at a reception in Seoul on Thursday. “India has played a very crucial role in South Korea’s post-war affairs since 1945, including supporting the country’s democratic elections and commemoration of the armistice agreement through diplomatic participation.” 

Noting that bilateral trade has steadily increased over the years, buoyed by India’s rapid economic growth and surging foreign investment, the 73-year-old parliamentarian said the two-way commerce has ample room for expansion. 

India is Korea’s 13th largest trading partner worldwide with trade volume reaching over $16 billion last year. Over 600 Korean small and medium-sized companies and conglomerates have invested over $3 billion in the world’s seventh-largest and Asia’s third-largest economy. 

“Indian expatriates are increasing in their numbers, and they are raising the status of India and contributing to the development of countries they live in,” she stressed. “In an age of globalization, they act as ambassadors of our culture and lead passionate and successful lives.”

The Indian Cultural Center in Seoul and Busan -- alongside the Indian Council for Cultural Relations -- have contributed to the promotion of the South Asian nation’s culture and heritage, providing classes for the Hindi language, Indian cuisine and Bollywood dance, the politician underlined. 

There are some 11,500 Indians living in Korea and roughly 1,000 of them are studying and working at academic and research institutions. 

“The value of her excellency Sumitra Mahajan’s visit lies in bringing together our peoples’ representatives,” Indian Ambassador Vikram Doraiswami said in a speech. “Through this process, we are sending the good will of India’s more than 1 billion people to Korea.”

Since taking up ambassadorship in April last year, Doraiswami has organized a series of high-level visits from India to Korea, including those of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj, Defense Minister Manohar Parrikar, former Minister of Human Resources Development Smriti Irani, Science and Technology Minister Harsh Vardhan and Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu, among others. 

Highlighting that India is undergoing major socioeconomic development, the envoy added that New Delhi and Seoul can cultivate a win-win partnership.

“Because our economy is growing at a rapid rate, there are many opportunities in India,” the diplomat emphasized in Korean. “You should not miss out on these opportunities. Please come to India. India and Korea are a perfect match.” 

Former Korean National Assembly Speaker Chung Eui-hwa said the two countries’ trade volumes should expand further, given the untapped potential and complementarities between the two economies. 

“Korea typically regards the world’s four major powers as the US, China, Russia and Japan. But as a former National Assembly Speaker, I stressed that the five major powers include India,” Chung said. “Much like the vigorous exchange between China and Korea, I wish there would be much greater trade and human interactions between India and Korea.”

By Joel Lee (joel@heraldcorp.com)