Lee calls on Korea, India to double trade through 'synergy' in chips, AI

President Lee Jae Myung, center, takes photos with participants after the Korea-India business forum in New Delhi, India, on April 20. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

NEW DELHI — President Lee Jae Myung called for Korea and India to double bilateral trade through joint efforts in sectors including chips, batteries, automobiles and shipbuilding at a business forum in New Delhi Monday.
 
"We must prepare for the future together in high-tech industries," Lee said addressing some 600 government officials and executives of both countries. "If India's world-class capabilities in AI and software are combined with Korea's manufacturing competitiveness in semiconductors, batteries, automobiles and shipbuilding, the two countries can generate tremendous synergy."
 
The current level of trade between the two countries is insufficient compared to the massive scale of India's economy, Lee said, calling to expand investment cooperation between Korea and India and double the volume of bilateral trade from its current $25 billion annually to some $50 billion by 2030.  
 
The Korea-India business forum, attended by some 250 Korean businesspeople involved the shipbuilding, steel, electric power, electronics, automobiles and consumer goods sectors.
 

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Heads of Korea's top conglomerates including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, Posco Holdings Chairman Chang In-hwa and HD Hyundai Chairman Chung Ki-sun attended the forum.  
 
Some 350 Indian businesspeople from the chemical, steel, biohealth and materials sectors also took part, including Vijay Sankar, chairman of The Sanmar Group, and Ravi Ruia, co-founder and vice chairman of the Essar Group.  
 
"We are faced with a growing number of common challenges, such as global supply chain restructuring, a digital transformation and the climate crisis," Lee told the business leaders.  
 
He then called to discard old ways and "create a more advanced framework for cooperation."  
 

President Lee Jae Myung gives an address at the Korea-India business forum in New Delhi, India, on April 20. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Earlier Monday, Lee in a bilateral summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi pledged to work together to ensure a stable supply of energy resources and key raw materials, including naphtha.  
 
On the occasion of the business forum, 20 private-sector memorandums of understanding (MOU) were signed, covering shipbuilding, digital technology, energy and other fields.
 
Hyundai Motor Company and India's TVS Motor Company signed an MOU for the joint development of electric three-wheelers. HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering and the Indian Institute of Technology Madras signed a deal to develop AI-based manufacturing technologies for the construction of smart shipyards.
 
Korean steelmaker Posco Holdings and India's JSW Group signed a $7.3 billion joint venture deal to build a steel plant in Odisha, India.
 

Business leaders including Samsung Electronics Executive Chairman Lee Jae-yong, fifth from right, Hyundai Motor Group Executive Chair Euisun Chung, third from right, and LG Chairman Koo Kwang-mo, right, listen during the Korea-India business forum in New Delhi, India, on April 20. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]

Kim Yong-beom, presidential chief of staff for policy, said in a press briefing in New Delhi that Modi "expressed a very serious and strong commitment to economic cooperation between the two countries" and proposed a "Korea desk," or a dedicated team to oversee business matters with Korea. Modi in turn proposed a similar team for India to be set up under Korea's presidential office.  
 
Modi also relayed that shipbuilding industry, AI, semiconductors and clean energy would be crucial over the next decade, expressing hope to combine India's scale with Korea's speed, Kim said.  
 

BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]