Indian External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar paid a visit to two of India’s important partners in East Asia, South Korea (March 5-6) and Japan (March 6-8), where he sought to step up security and economic cooperation and more generally boost ties as all three friendly nations have common concerns to cope with China’s growing influence in the Indo-Pacific region.

Jaishankar’s visit came at a time when the international situation looks quite uncertain and volatile, and the world is recovering from a once-in-a-century pandemic while still being subjected to continuous shocks. In view of the importance of this outreach initiative, this essay shall analyse what transpired both in Seoul and Tokyo in two segments. The first part examines what transpired in South Korea. While in Seoul, Jaishankar met South Korea’s top leadership and batted for expanding India’s strategic partnership with South Korea in critical technologies, semi-conductors and green hydrogen to make the bilateral ties more contemporary.

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He co-chaired the 10th India-South Korea Joint Commission Meeting (JCM) with his counterpart Cho Tae-yul. The two leaders held a comprehensive and productive discussion on cooperation in the fields of defence, science and technology and trade, business and trade, people-to-people exchange and cultural cooperation. Besides bilateral issues, both sides exchanged views on the developments in the Indo-Pacific, convergences to challenges in the region and regional/global issues of mutual interest. It may be recalled that during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to South Korea in 2015, the bilateral relations were elevated to a special strategic partnership. Since then, bilateral ties have assumed robustness.

Both nations have become important partners for each other, with bilateral exchanges steadily increasing. As a result, cooperation in the field of trade, investment, defence, science and technology have seen steady growth, while keeping the momentum in the traditional areas of cooperation. The meetings between Prime Minister Modi and South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol in Hiroshima and New Delhi in 2023 provided the roadmap and guidance for both countries to steer their policies for the future. The convergence of interests provided heft to this understanding. With a view to expand the ambit of cooperation, it was agreed that to make the ties more contemporary, new areas such as emerging technologies, semi-conductors, green hydrogen, human resource mobility, nuclear cooperation, supply chain resilience, etc. would be given a thrust and cooperation deepened.

The fact that the JCM was attended by representatives from many ministries and departments of the two governments meant it provided the platform for a comprehensive review of bilateral cooperation under the Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries. Besides bilateral issues, common interests and concerns on regional issues were covered wherein both sides shared perspectives on their respective Indo-Pacific visions and strategies and commonality in their perspectives for the region.

From the discussions, it transpired that there is a growing convergence of views in the international fora. The focus was on stability, security, and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region, which has come under stress because of China’s unilateral stance on many regional and bilateral issues, impacting regional security. The commitment from both sides was how to use the enormous goodwill and translate the challenge into practical outcomes. As is customary in most political discussions, leaders from either side often remind the present generation of the age-old civilizational and cultural ties between the two countries, which both sides cherish.

Jaishankar also met a delegation led by the Mayor of Gimhae City, sister city of Ayodhya. Needless to mention that India shares an ancient bond of kinship with the Korean people, manifested by Princess Suriratna from Ayodhya, who is known as Queen Heo Hwang-ok in South Korea. The Gimhae-Ayodhya connect is a testament to the shared cultural heritage and longstanding people-to-people relations between the two countries. According to Korean legend, the teenage princess from Ayodhya crossed the ocean in a boat some 2,000 years ago, sailed 4,500 kilometres to Korea and married King Kim Suro who founded the Gaya Kingdom in the north Asian country.

Besides this matrimonial alliance, Buddhism is another historical connection that binds the two peoples together. Recently, the revered Monk Domyung, Chief Abbot of Yeo Yeo Jung Sa, has penned a book “Gaya Buddhism, Unlatching the Gate” on Korea’s historical and cultural association with ancient India and Buddhism. India’s rich Buddhist heritage is showcased at the prestigious National Museum of Korea, where exhibitions regularly remind the present generation of visitors of the past relationship between India and South Korea.

The MEA in a statement observed that soon after both countries celebrated the 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations in 2023, Jaishankar’s visit to Korea provided an opportunity to create new pathways to further strengthen the Special Strategic Partnership between the two countries. In his meeting with the representatives of the Indian Chamber of Commerce in Korea, Jaishankar urged them to strengthen the business bridge between the two countries.

He also called on Prime Minister Han Duck-soo, had meetings with Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy Ahn Dukgeun, and Director of National Security Office Chang Ho-jin. He also held an interactive discussion with heads of Korean think-tanks, academics, businessmen and the Indian diaspora, sharing views on India’s development, foreign policy and potential and prospects for bilateral relations.

Delivering a speech at Korea’s National Diplomatic Academy on the theme “Broadening horizons: India and Korea in the Indo-Pacific”, Jaishankar demonstrated how India and South Korea can work together for peace and prosperity in the Indo-Pacific region and beyond by building supply chain resilience, leveraging complementary technology strengths, and linking geographies through connectivity. Indeed, the strategic outlooks of both India and South Korea converge a great deal with India’s focus extending eastward toward the Korean Peninsula, and South Korea’s moving westward toward the Indian Ocean.

This too makes the economic logic for the partnership strong. Stronger cooperation is therefore impelled by both national interests and global derisking. As bilateral contacts have steadily increased, both India and South Korea have become “truly important partners” for one another.

(The writer is former Senior Fellow at Pradhanmantri Memorial Museum & Library, New Delhi)