India-Korea CEPA review in Seoul this week

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SME Times News Bureau | 21 Sep, 2017
India's CEPA with South Korea will be reviewed by the trade ministers of India and Korea in Seoul this week to give a fillip to bilateral trade and investment, said J.K. Dadoo, Additional Secretary & Financial Advisor, Ministry of Commerce & Industry, at 'India-Korea Economic Cooperation Forum', organized in New Delhi by FICCI and KOTRA on Wednesday.

The Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is a free trade agreement between India and South Korea.

Speaking on 'India's Potential in the 4th Generation Industrial Revolution Era: Cooperation in Industry – Investment', Dadoo said that there was a trade deficit against India with Korea enjoying a surplus. This needed to be corrected for a balanced two-way trade. He added that there was immense scope of exploring trade and investment opportunities in new areas for both India and Korea.

Highlighting the various initiatives and programmes undertaken by India and Korea in diverse sectors to strengthen their partnership, Dadoo said that India offers a liberal and transparent policy regime along with a FDI policy, which gives several incentives to investors.

Young Sam Kim, Additional Minister, S. Korea MOTIE, said that in 2016, exports to the India were $ 11.6 billion, up about 50 percent since the signing of the CEPA in 2010. He added that enhanced cooperation in manufacturing and infrastructure was needed while cooperation in new areas should be explored to further boost bilateral ties.

HaeKwang Lee, Chargé d'affaires, Embassy of Republic of Korea, said that there was a need for Korea and India to tap each other’s potential optimally to increase the trade volume. With the Special Strategic Partnership (SSP) in place, the two nations needed to cooperate with a long term vision to have a mutually beneficial partnership.

Dr. Sanjaya Baru, Secretary General, FICCI, said that today almost every home in India has a Korean product, be it a car or refrigerator or other electronic appliances. This shows that Korean companies have benefitted from India while Indian consumers have enjoyed the advantage of using good products.

Dr. Jaehong Kim, CEO & President, KOTRA, said that Korea with its expertise in electronics and automobiles and India with the edge in software, ICT and R&D could exchange their respective knowledge and capabilities to expand business opportunities and promote economic cooperation.

Ju Hyun Kim, CEO & President, The Financial News, Korea, said that over the years Korea and India have strengthened their economic relationship by deepening cooperation in diverse sectors. The focus has been on developing Korea-India partnership to create a win-win situation for the two countries.