Jaishankar, Cho Hyun review India-South Korea ties amid global shifts

Seoul,UPDATED: Jun 24, 2026 18:04 IST

External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Wednesday held talks with South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun, with both sides focusing on bilateral cooperation and the rapidly changing global situation. The discussions covered trade, investment, finance and a wider review of ties across several sectors.

Jaishankar is in South Korea on a two-day visit, the second leg of his ongoing foreign tour after Mongolia. The two ministers also exchanged views on developments in their respective regions and around the world, and agreed to stay in close touch on the economic implications of developments in West Asia.

In his opening remarks, Jaishankar said, "It is a great pleasure to be back in Seoul and to meet you and your team today for our discussions," adding that the meeting was timely given the state of the world and the importance of the bilateral relationship. He said South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's visit to India in April and Prime Minister Narendra Modi's meeting with Lee at the G7 in Evian, France last week had provided guidance on how to advance bilateral ties. The talks focused on follow-up measures in key areas such as trade, investment and finance.

"As foreign ministers it is clearly our responsibility to take this relationship forward, to oversee what different parts of the government and different parts of our economy of our country do with each other in their interaction," Jaishankar said. He added that India was fully committed to realising the potential of the relationship, which both sides acknowledged had significant room for growth. After the meeting, he said in a social media post, "We reviewed our cooperation across political, shipbuilding, trade, investments, defence, technology, clean energy, culture and P2P (people-to-people) domains." He also said they discussed opportunities in areas such as start-ups, fintech and multilateral forums.

The discussions in Seoul continued over lunch and lasted around three hours. In a post on X, Cho said President Lee's visit to India in April had marked a turning point in taking Korea-India relations to a new dimension. "I welcome swift follow-up progress in areas such as trade, investment and finance and discussed how to build on these achievements," he said. Cho also highlighted India's hosting of "Korea Week" this week and said it had fulfilled Modi's commitment to directly address challenges faced by Korean businesses in India. "I am grateful for India's strong support, and Korea will soon host a similar dialogue for Indian companies in Korea," he said.

Cho said the two ministers also had an in-depth discussion on the fast-changing global landscape and agreed to maintain close communication in responding to economic implications arising from developments in West Asia. Later in the day, Jaishankar met South Korea's Director of Security Wi Sung-lac and said on X, "Had a useful exchange of strategic assessments on global developments and the Indo-Pacific." Jaishankar and Cho are scheduled to meet again on Thursday at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity, where Jaishankar will deliver the keynote speech, capping a day of talks focused on expanding cooperation and reviewing regional and global developments.

With PTI Inputs

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