1. Park Hae-yun, MOFAT’s Director-General for South Asian and Pacific Affairs, will meet with Guatam Bambawale, the Indian Foreign Ministry’s Joint Secretary for East Asia, at MOFAT on February 27.

2. The meeting has been arranged to review the full range of bilateral issues that have been increasing since the upgrade of the bilateral relationship to a strategic partnership and the effectuation of the ROK-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in January 2010; and seek ways to deepen the partnership.

* The meeting will be the first of its kind in two years and three months since the last held in New Delhi, India, in October 2009.

3. In the meeting, the two countries will discuss the full range of bilateral issues in the fields of politics, economy, society, culture, science and others, as well as ways to work closely on the regional and global stages, including the East Asia Summit and the UN. The ROK side will focus on upgrading the CEPA; working more closely in nuclear energy and defense industry; expanding its presence in India’s infrastructure sector; reducing difficulties that ROK companies in India face in their operations; and streamlining the visa process.

4. With the conclusion of a bilateral agreement on nuclear cooperation last July, the ROK and India laid the cornerstone toward a more solid cooperation in not only economy but also strategic matters. The upcoming meeting is expected to contribute to closer communication and tighter relations between the two countries in the fields of diplomacy and security.

                                     Spokesperson and Deputy Minister for Public Relations of MOFAT

* unofficial translation