Union Minister calls for Korean investments in defence and shipping sectors

The Dollar Business Bureau India and South Korea, on Friday, underwent high level defence talks, where both sides discussed the existing bilateral defence relations and also plans for further enhancement of military co-operation. Manohar Parrikar, Union Defence Minister, Government of India, on Friday, met the defence officials of South Korea, which include Admiral Choi, Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, Minister Chang of the Defence Acquisition Program Administration (DAPA) and Kim Kwan-jin, National Security Advisor of South Korea. In a meeting with Minister Chang, both the sides discussed India and Republic of Korea (ROK)’s shared perspectives on regional and international issues and towards cooperation in defence production, research and development. Stating that he has chosen ROK as his first destination under Make in India campaign, the Minister came in to an agreement with the officials on ways towards enhancing efforts for furthering the mutually-beneficial partnerships in defence production. In an another meeting, the Indian Defence Minister and Han Min-koo, Defence Minister of Korea, focused particularly on the ways of building deep partnerships between Indian and Korean defence industries. Meanwhile, according to the reports, Manohar Parrikar was quoted to have said that the Indian Defence Industry is likely to see over US$ 250 billion worth business over the next decade, as he invited the Korean defence industry to make full use of ‘Make in India’. Addressing the India-Korea Defence Industry Forum in Seoul, the Minister was said to have informed about the policy changes being taken by the Indian government to facilitate ways for investments in the defence sector. Referring to the existing value for Korean-made products in India, the Minister called upon the Korean defence companies to also enter into Indian defence market as the long-term partners. The Minister also made presentations on the steps taken by India towards streamlining of the Indian defence procurement policies. The Indian Defence Minister had also met the top management of the Hyundai Heavy Industries and invited them to become strategic partners for India's defence and commercial shipping sectors, the reports added.    

This article was published on April 18, 2015 – 1.22 pm IST.