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At the Jeju Forum, S Jaishankar urged India and South Korea to deepen cooperation across key sectors. He said wider partnerships and stronger Global South capacity are vital for a stable multipolar order.
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Seoul,UPDATED: Jun 25, 2026 13:10 IST
External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Thursday said India and South Korea must work more closely in areas such as ship-building, health, infrastructure and defence, as he underlined the need to deepen ties between the two countries.
He also called for greater capacity and opportunities for the Global South, saying this would create new drivers of global growth. Without naming any country, he said the interests of a few nations were being openly prioritised, while the costs to many were receiving less attention.
Jaishankar, who is in South Korea on a two-day visit after travelling to Mongolia, was speaking at the Jeju Forum for Peace and Prosperity 2026. He stressed the importance of stronger economic and technology partnerships, political and strategic cooperation, and closer people-to-people ties between New Delhi and Seoul. “India and the Republic of Korea must cooperate more closely,” he said. “We have complementarities in fields like ship-building, digital, health, infrastructure or defence just waiting to be exploited.”
He said influential nations must build “new understandings and closer relationships” to stabilise the global order and deal with issues through agenda-specific cooperation. “The Global South should be provided greater capacity and opportunities. This would also create new factors of global growth,” he said. “As the interests of a few are openly prioritised, the costs to the many are less considered. This can only be countered by cooperation on more issues with greater players. At the end of the day, we will see whether multi-polarity really delivers.” Calling for stronger international cooperation, Jaishankar said, “Whether it is pandemics like Covid-19, acts of terrorism or the impact of extreme climate events, these cannot be contained within political jurisdictions. cooperation is a must.”
On the sidelines of the Jeju Forum, Jaishankar met former UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon and former Mongolian Prime Minister Gombojav Zandanshatar. Earlier on Wednesday, he held talks with his South Korean counterpart Cho Hyun on bilateral cooperation and the rapidly changing global situation. The discussions also covered follow-up measures in trade, investment and finance that were agreed during South Korean President Lee Jae-myung’s state visit to India in April, rounding off a visit centred on closer India-South Korea cooperation and wider global engagement.
With PTI Inputs
- Ends
Published By:
India Today Web Desk
Published On:
Jun 25, 2026 13:10 IST
