Defence Minister Rajnath meets South Korean PM to strengthen bilateral ties

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh, who is on a three-day visit to South Korea, discussed measures to consolidate the strategic partnership with the East Asian nation on Wednesday.

Singh met South Korean Prime Minister Lee Nak-Yon on the first day of his three-day visit during his two-nation tour. He was on an official visit to Japan earlier this week and arrived in the Korean capital of Seoul on Wednesday.

A defence ministry official said that the two leaders had a comprehensive interaction over a wide range of issues pertaining to bilateral ties between India and South Korea.

Singh said South Korea continues to be the ‘Light of East’ quoting Indian Nobel Prize winning poet Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore.

“During the meeting with the PM of RoK (Republic of Korea), I shared my appreciation for his continued efforts for peace and stability in the Korean Peninsula. Gurudev Rabindranath Tagore had once famously said that Korea was the ‘Light of East’. RoK continues to remain the ‘Light of East’,” Singh tweeted.

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Singh is scheduled to attend a forum of CEOs of defence industries from both countries during the course of his visit, which will be followed by a business-to-government meeting in Seoul.

“India and RoK are natural partners with many complementarities. Korea’s ‘New Southern Policy’ and India’s ‘Act East Policy’ provide strong framework for our future engagement and consolidation of our Special Strategic Partnership,” said Singh in another tweet.

The defence minister will also have a dialogue with his South Korean counterpart Jeong Kyeong-Doo during the course of his visit.