Seoul and Delhi, new partners in Indo-Pacific

Τhe India conversation in the power corridors of Seoul is increasingly gaining traction as New Delhi finds space documents. While India is mapped as a "key regional strategic partner" in the National Security Strategy (NSS) document, the Indo-Pacific Strategy identifies India as a "leading regional partner with shared values".

- Titli Basu

The NSS underscores the imperative of India's transition towards a knowledge economy alongside its software prowess, space technology and demographic dividend. Seoul's Indo-Pacific Strategy argues the case for doubling down on strategic communication with Delhi and advancing deeper cooperation in foreign and defence verticals.

President Yoon puts international norms and a rules-based order rooted in universal values front and centre in his strategy. As Seoul anchors its Indo-Pacific Strategy on the three principles inclusiveness, trust and reciprocity, it aligns with India's vision of a free, open and inclusive Indo-Pacific, defined by international law and shared prosperity.

From the geopolitics of G20 to the geo-economics of the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), aligning the India-South Korea coordinates on the high table of power politics is sharpening the Special Strategic Partnership as 2023 marks the 50th anniversary of diplomatic relations.