Seoul, May 11 (IANS) India can serve as a prominent manufacturing and export hub for South Korea amid recent shifts in global supply chains, local experts said on Monday, as Seoul is pushing to deepen its economic ties with the world’s most populous nation.

In a meeting with Industry Minister Kim Jung-kwan, experts at major economic research institutes and trade agencies here made the assessment, calling for a detailed strategy to help Korean companies expand their footprint in the Indian market, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources, reports Yonhap news agency.

The meeting was held to discuss ways to help the country expand its economic cooperation with India in response to shifts in global supply chains and trade protectionist measures of major economies.

The experts said India is emerging as a global manufacturing hub with a population of some 1.4 billion, and a gross domestic product (GDP) of over $4 trillion. Despite such potential, the country as a whole has been a rather difficult market for Korean companies to enter due to the lack of infrastructure and a complicated regulatory system, according to the ministry.

The creation of a dedicated industrial complex for Korean companies in India could help lower the burden for Korean firms operating or wishing to operate in the country, they suggested.

They added that Korean companies in India are currently focused on importing intermediate goods to produce products targeting the Indian market, calling for efforts to also make India a global export hub for Korea.

During his visit to India last month, the Korean industry minister and his Indian counterpart, Piyush Goyal, agreed to newly establish a joint committee to promote industrial cooperation between the two countries, while Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo signed a joint statement with Goyal to facilitate negotiations to improve the bilateral comprehensive economic partnership agreement.

The agreements were made as the two ministers accompanied President Lee Jae Myung on his state visit to India for a leaders’ summit, where they agreed to cooperate on energy supply chains and expand bilateral trade and investment.

During the event, 20 memorandums of understanding were also signed between Korean and Indian companies for collaboration in the steel, shipbuilding, energy and other sectors.

—IANS

na/