In a show of just how far bilateral ties have come in recent years, the Indian Embassy here hosted its biggest-ever business symposium in Seoul on Friday.

Hundreds of executives, government officials, consultants and media representatives came out for the “India: New future in infrastructure and manufacturing” symposium to learn how to increase commercial and trade ties between South Korea and the third-largest economy in Asia and most populous democracy in the world.

Senior Indian government officials also sat down with their South Korean counterparts for a fourth round of the two nations’ ― the third and fourth largest economies in the region ― “Foreign Policy and Security Dialogue,” also in Seoul the same day.

The India delegation was headed by Anil Wadhwa, vice minister for external affairs. He was joined by senior officials from the ministries of commerce and industry, defense, and communications and IT.

The Korean side was headed by First Vice Minister Cho Tae-Yong and similarly assisted by representatives from corresponding Korean ministries.

Standard Chartered Bank, the Indian Chambers of Commerce in Korea, the Asia Society Korea Center, and auto producer Mahindra & Mahindra joined with the Indian chancery to organize the event.

Korean companies have been investing $25 billion-$30 billion abroad annually and are keen on scaling up their presence in India, given the huge market and business opportunities on offer.

“(There is a) marked renewal of interest toward India among the Korean corporate houses. Currently over 600 South Korean companies are present in India and have invested (cumulatively) over $4 billion,” the embassy said in a statement.

A number of important investment projects, including the POSCO Steel Mills in Maharashtra and Odisha, as well as the first ever Korean Industrial Park in Rajasthan, are in the pipeline.

By Philip Iglauer (ephilip2014@heraldcorp.com)