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India is the focus market for the Korean economy and we will work together to achieve higher trade relations between both countries, said Chang Jae-bok, Korean Ambassador to India.

In a conversation with IANS, he said that both nations have set a target of $50 billion bilateral trade by 2030 and are working towards the same. India is the focus market for the Korean economy and we will work together to achieve higher trade relations between both the countries.

On being asked about how Korea sees the Make in India initiative, the Ambassador said that 'Make in India' is an outstanding initiative by the government of India. "Leading players like Samsung are making a lot of investments in India, 66 new Korean companies entered into India in the pandemic year 2020. We are seeing a lot of new prospective Korean companies interested to enter India", he told IANS.

"According to data from Korea's Ministry of Trade, Industry, and Energy (MOTIE), bilateral trade between India and Korea has reached $23.7 billion in 2021, surpassing $21.5 billion in 2018. This was the highest-ever trade volume between the two countries, representing a 40 per cent increase over the previous year's total of $16.9 billion (2020). Also, 66 new Korean companies entered into India in the pandemic year 2020, and Korean investment totaled around $396 million during this economic downturn period", said Chang Jae-bok on the question of Covid impact on trade relations between two nations.

"India has a very strong IT and software base and we plan to leverage it in the best possible way. Apart from this, promising sectors such as Medical Devices and Diagnostics, EV infra and battery, Logistics and warehousing are other segments in which Korean companies are planning to foray," he said on the question of major shifts of both nations in the trade.

On the sideline of the 4th edition of the Korea Fair in India (KFI) which was inaugurated on Wednesday, Ambassador Chang Jae-bok had said that Korea and India have a strong economic partnership that is rapidly expanding.