India and South Korea decided to upgrade their bilateral relations to a 'strategic partnership' that is expected to deepen cooperation in the areas of economy, defense, science technology and culture.
Visiting South Korean President Lee Myung Bak and Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh signed in New Delhi Monday four accords - related to cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, information technology, science and technology for the year 2010-12 and transfer of sentenced prisoners.
Asia's fastest-growing economies also agreed to double their bilateral trade to $30 billion by 2014 based on the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), the free trade accord that came into effect this year.
The accords will reportedly pave the way for Korean conglomerates, including Hyundai Motor, Samsung and POSCO, to sharply increase their presence in India as well as in Southeast Asia.
Seoul also hopes closer ties with New Delhi will help strengthen President Lee's New Asia Initiative, under which he seeks to embrace more Asian countries through diplomatic and economic cooperation to represent their voices in the international arena.
The two leaders discussed a wide range of bilateral, regional and global issues including boosting economic and trade ties, UN reforms and cooperation in civilian nuclear energy, defense and civilian space technologies.
"We are committed to developing a robust and comprehensive framework for strategic engagement with Korea," Singh said after the talks.
Myung Bak will be chief guest at India's Republic Day celebrations in the capital Tuesday, an honor attributed to India's closest allies.
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