South Korean President to hold talks with PM Modi; trade defence on agenda

South Korean President Moon Jae-in, who is on a four-day visit to India will on Tuesday hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a range of issues, including trade and defence cooperation. India expects the talks would open new avenues for expanding the bilateral partnership, particularly in the economic domain. 

The two sides are also likely to form a Korea-India Future Vision Strategy Group, which will identify research projects and exchange programmes on software, biotech, cyber security, healthcare and energy. The leaders are likely to talk about the proposed memorial park in Ayodhya on Korean Queen Heo Hwang-ok. India is keen to get South Korean minesweepers considered to be armed with cutting-edge technology.

This is also expected to figure in the conversations, since Delhi is keen to get international players into the Make-in-India programme in defence manufacturing, according to the reports. Moon will get a ceremonial reception at the Rashtrapati Bhawan on July 10. Modi will then hold official talks with the South Korean President at Hyderabad House, which will be followed by a lunch. Modi visited South Korea in May 2015 during which the bilateral partnership was elevated to a special strategic partnership.