President Moon Jae-in met with Indian Minister of Finance Arun Jaitley and his delegation at the main building of Cheong Wa Dae for half an hour from four o’clock this afternoon.

President Moon said he wanted to take this opportunity to express his gratitude to Prime Minister Modi for his warm greetings in a congratulatory call and letter after posting a Twitter message. He went on to say that his telephone conversation with Prime Minister Modi, in particular, was an invaluable opportunity to build friendship and trust between the two leaders and reaffirm the commitment to future cooperation. Welcoming Minister Jaitley to Korea, the President said he was gratified with ongoing vibrant exchanges of senior-level officials between the two countries in diplomacy, the economy and other sectors. He further cited some examples as proof, including a recent visit to India by the First Vice Minister of Foreign Affairs of Korea, Minister Jaitley’s visit to Korea and Special Envoy Chung Dong-chae’s departure today for India. He continued to explain that it is the first time for Korea to send a special emissary to India and that it shows how much Korea values India, asking the Indian Minister to express this significance to Prime Minister Modi.

On the economic front, President Moon said he had high regard for India that was growing into an economic powerhouse with a high economic growth rate in the range of 7 percent under the leadership of Prime Minister Modi. He promised that Korea would be India’s partner so that the Prime Minister’s leadership and Minister Jaitley’s efforts for reform measures could produce great achievements. He expressed the hope that cooperation befitting the special strategic partnership between the two nations on foreign affairs and national security would further deepen in the future.

President Moon expressed the hope that the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement, which is currently under discussion for amendment, would be upgraded in a mutually beneficial manner and, thus, make further contributions to promoting trade and investments between the two nations. The President said that he was informed of the fact that the Finance Ministers of the two nations had had extensive discussions on various areas, including infrastructure cooperation, yesterday. The President also noted that bilateral cooperation has recently been carried out briskly in a variety of sectors, which was also mentioned during the discussion with the Korean Defense Minister yesterday, adding that it was pleasing to see such progress. The President went on to say that the Government would provide enhanced support so that investment by Korean businesses in India would increase.

President Moon emphasized that the peaceful resolution of the North Korean nuclear issue was more important than anything else, adding that the Korean Government was striving to bring about a groundbreaking turning point for peace on the Korean Peninsula through a bold and pragmatic approach. The President continued to say that additional tough sanctions and pressure through international cooperation were necessary to deal with the North`s provocations, but stressed that the ultimate goal of sanctions and pressure was to bring the North to the negotiating table for the complete dismantlement of its nuclear programs. The President expressed his appreciation to the visiting Finance Minister for the fact that the Indian Government has so far opposed the North`s nuclear development and joined the international community`s efforts to deal with the issue. He then expressed the hope that India would continue strategic communication and cooperation to address the North Korean nuclear issue in the days to come. 

President Moon went on to say he was sure that India would grow into an economic powerhouse, expressing the hope that Korea could help India in its development and India could become a close partner for Korea’s progress. The President also said he hoped to visit India at an opportune time and was looking forward to meeting Prime Minister Modi in person on the sidelines of the G20 Summit scheduled in Germany early next month.

Minister Jaitley thanked the President for his hospitality and congratulated him on his election and inauguration. The Minister said Prime Minister Modi especially expressed his gratitude to the President for sending an emissary. The Minister continued to say that over 400 Korean companies were operating in and greatly influencing India, adding that the Indian Government established Korea Plus to support the Korean enterprises and increased the number of flights between the two nations. The Minister said the Indian Government hopes to further expand bilateral cooperation in national defense and that is one of the reasons that Prime Minister Modi sent him to Korea. The Minister added that India intends to open its defense industry to the outside and asked for Korean companies’ participation.

The Minister said India has continued to support Korea’s position on denuclearization and intends to stick to it in the years to come. The Minister went on to say that he was certain that the President’s creative approach would be helpful in establishing regional peace, expressing the hope that it would succeed. Finally, the Minister said he was looking forward to the meeting between President Moon and Prime Minister Modi at the G20 Summit next month and expressed the hope that the President would be able to visit India.