New Delhi: The visiting South Korean President Lee Jae Myung will meet Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday and discuss shipbuilding, trade, investments, AI, semiconductors, critical and emerging technologies. On Sunday, External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar called on President Lee as he kicked off his visit to India.

An important visit 

“Honoured to call on President @Jaemyung_Lee of the Republic of Korea as he begins his State Visit to India. Value his commitment to deepen India-Korea relations across multiple domains. “Confident that his talks tomorrow with PM @narendramodi will further strengthen our Special Strategic Partnership,” Jaishankar said on X.

Lee will also meet President Droupadi Murmu, who will host a banquet in his honour. “The visit of President Lee underscores the shared aspiration of both countries to further strengthen the existing areas of cooperation while expanding collaboration in new and emerging areas of mutual interest,” the MEA said in a statement on Thursday.

What’s on the agenda?

On Monday, the schedule begins with an official welcoming ceremony and wreath-laying at the Gandhi Memorial Park. This is to be followed by small-group talks, expanded talks, an MOU exchange ceremony, a joint press conference, and a luncheon hosted by Prime Minister Modi.

Business and trade are then on line, as the Korea-India Business Dialogue will take place where the leaders of both countries and representatives of major companies will explore mutually beneficial cooperation measures. In line with this, President Lee will also interact with key figures from the business communities of both countries at the Korea-India Business Forum.

A key focus of the talks is also expected to be the proposed upgrade of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), as India and South Korea look to address long-standing concerns over market access and trade imbalances. Both countries have set an ambitious target of taking bilateral trade to $50 billion by 2030, and discussions are expected to centre on removing barriers and expanding sectors of cooperation.