Lee departs for six-day trip to India, Vietnam to discuss economic cooperation, supply chains
![President Lee Jae Myung, right, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung depart from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on April 19 for a six-day trip to India and Vietnam. He will be making state visits to both countries. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreajoongangdaily.joins.com/data/photo/2026/04/19/da8fc42c-f2d8-43dc-b581-4ac1ffb5d575.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, right, and first lady Kim Hea Kyung depart from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, on April 19 for a six-day trip to India and Vietnam. He will be making state visits to both countries. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
President Lee Jae Myung began a six-day trip on Sunday to India and Vietnam, where deepening economic cooperation and stabilizing supply chains are expected to be priorities in bilateral summits amid global uncertainties due to the Middle East crisis.
Lee and first lady Kim Hea Kyung departed from Seoul Air Base in Seongnam, Gyeonggi, at 11:30 a.m. for New Delhi to begin a three-day state visit.
On Monday, Lee will hold a bilateral summit with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi to discuss ways to develop the two countries’ special strategic partnership. The leaders will participate in a signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding, a joint press conference and a state luncheon.
During their summit, the two leaders could also discuss ways to improve their bilateral comprehensive economic partnership agreement. India, the world’s fourth-largest economy with a population of 1.4 billion, is a massive potential market for Korean companies and an attractive investment destination.
Lee will attend a business forum involving business leaders from Korea and India. He will later take part in a state dinner hosted by Indian President Droupadi Murmu, the ceremonial head of state.
The visit signals the start of the Lee administration’s “Global South” diplomacy, as the president has been keen on expanding his signature pragmatic diplomacy into the Global South, referring to developing economies located in Africa, Latin America and the Caribbean. India has been positioning itself as a leader and bridge with the Global South.
Lee is scheduled to attend a series of business events throughout the trip and will be accompanied by large-scale business delegations on his trips to India and Vietnam, including the leaders of Korea’s top four conglomerates: SK Group, Samsung Electronics, Hyundai Motor and LG Group.
On Tuesday, Lee will head to Hanoi for a four-day state visit to hold talks with To Lam, Vietnam’s president and the general secretary of the Communist Party. Lee will also attend a Korea-Vietnam business forum.
The Vietnamese president made a state visit to Korea in August of last year as the first state guest of the Lee administration.
During the trip, Lee will focus on economic cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, AI, science and technology and energy transition, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a press briefing on Thursday.
“Amid growing global uncertainties, we will seek to stabilize energy supply chains and enhance cooperation in critical minerals,” Wi added regarding Lee’s visit to Vietnam.
BY SARAH KIM [kim.sarah@joongang.co.kr]
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