Piyush Goyal meets Korea trade minister, discusses strengthening trade, investment and supply chain collaboration

NEW DELHI: Union Minister of Commerce and Industry Piyush Goyal held a meeting with Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-Koo to discuss ways to strengthen economic ties, enhance investments and deepen supply chain collaboration between the two countries.

In a social media post following the meeting, Goyal said the discussions focused on strengthening the India-Korea economic partnership and exploring opportunities to expand trade and manufacturing.

“Held a meeting with Mr. Yeo Han-Koo, Trade Minister, Republic of Korea. We had constructive discussions on strengthening the India-Korea economic partnership. Also discussed ways to deepen trade, encourage greater manufacturing and exports from India, and unlock new opportunities for our businesses,” Goyal said in the post on X. He added that both sides reaffirmed their commitment to enhancing investment, expanding supply-chain collaboration and working towards a more mutually beneficial trade relationship.

Held a meeting with Mr. Yeo Han-Koo, Trade Minister, Republic of Korea.

We had constructive discussions on strengthening the India–Korea economic partnership. Also discussed ways to deepen trade, encourage greater manufacturing and exports from India, and unlock new… pic.twitter.com/0qVbQFQqTH

— Piyush Goyal (@PiyushGoyal) March 13, 2026

India and the South Korea share longstanding historical and cultural ties spanning over two millennia. The two countries established diplomatic relations in 1973 and have since steadily strengthened their economic engagement. According to data from the Department of Commerce under the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, the bilateral trade between India and Korea stood at $26.89 billion during FY25.

South Korea is also a significant investor in India. The Republic of Korea is India’s 13th largest foreign direct investment (FDI) investor from April 2000 to March 2025, with total investments amounting to $6.69 billion. Key sectors that have attracted investment from Korea include metallurgy, automobile, electronics, prime movers, machine tools, hospitals and diagnostic centres.

As economic cooperation between the two countries continues to expand, bilateral trade between India and South Korea is expected to reach $50 billion by 2030. India’s exports to Korea stood at $5.82 billion during FY25, with the country exporting around 3,200 commodities to the Korean market.

Major exports from India to Korea include engineering goods valued at $2.6 billion, petroleum products worth $964 million, organic and inorganic chemicals worth $730 million, other items valued at $205 million, and drugs and pharmaceuticals worth $187 million during FY25. (ANI)