South Korean President Moon Jae-in will be in India on a four-day visit from July 8 to 11. This will be the South Korean leader’s first visit to India after he was elected President in 2017. The President is expected to be accompanied by a large delegation including his wife.

The Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) said that during the visit, Moon is scheduled to hold talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi on a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues of mutual interest with a view to further strengthen the Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries. During his first visit to the country, the South Korean President will be accorded a ceremonial reception on July 10 followed by a meet with his Indian counterpart President Ram Nath Kovind.

The major focus of the various bilateral meetings will be economic cooperation. Bilateral trade between India and South Korea surpassed $20 billion in 2017. Owing to the fact that various South Korean companies such as Samsung, LG and Hyundai are household names in India, Moon Jae-in is also scheduled to visit a Samsung manufacturing plant during his India visit. Moon Jae-in and PM Modi are will also address a India-Republic of Korea CEOs round table.

The relationship between India and South Korea was elevated to "special strategic partnership" during PM Modi's visit to the country in 2015 and the relationship has since expanded in several areas. The two leaders have previously met at the G-20 Summit in Hamburg.

External Affairs Ministry spokesperson Raveesh Kumar told reporters that various agreements will be signed during the state visit. Kumar added the relationship with South Korea was logical extension of India's Act East policy. He said South Korea has a new southern strategy and "there is a lot of convergence as far as our outlook is concerned".

"We expect the visit to open new partnership particularly in economic domain. Republic of Korea is a valued partner. Our bilateral trade last year passed $20 billion and investments are also rising," he said.

A financing arrangement of $10 billion has been set by South Korea for infrastructure development in India. "We have also set up a Korea-plus cell within Invest India to fast-track Korean investment in India," he said.

Experts note that during his election campaign, Moon Jae-in had pledged to elevate ties with India to the level of Korea’s relations with the four major powers in and around the Korean Peninsula – China, Japan, Russia and the United States. This is a significant departure from Korea’s traditional foreign policy yet a pressing one. South Korea needs diplomatic diversification in the age of escalating geopolitical as well as economic uncertainty. It is partly a hedging strategy amid the U.S.-China tug-of-war in the region, and partly a forward-looking move to address how Korea and India can together meet the demands of a dynamic future.

It should be noted that South Korea established formal ties with India in 1973.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Jul 06, 2018 01:45 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).