India celebrates its 60th Republic Day today. It is to this day in 1950 that the Indian Constitution came into force after its independence from Britain in August 1947. The Republic Day celebrations are an opportunity to display the nation’s cultural diversity, military might and other achievements to its people and the world through a grand parade along the Rajpath in New Delhi. On this day, the Indian government also invites a foreign head of state as a chief guest to the parade, a honor bestowed upon ‘special friends’. By inviting the South Korean President Lee Myung-bak this year, India reiterated that the East Asian nation is one of its foreign policy priorities.
The Manmohan Singh government had taken bold steps towards expanding relations with South Korea, when it signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with it last August. In effect a free trade agreement, the CEPA came into force this month. To further facilitate growth in bilateral trade the two countries also signed agreements related to cooperation in peaceful uses of outer space, IT, science and technology for the year 2010-12. They seek to boost bilateral trade from the current $16 billion to $30 billion by 2014. During an interview with the Times of India, President Lee Myung-bak said that South Korean expertise in IT hardware manufacturing and Indian excellence in IT services could produce a “synergy in the IT area between the two countries”. Businesses on both sides should take advantage of the significant tariff cuts brought about by the CEPA.
Another crucial outcome of this visit was that India and South Korea agreed to explore possibilities of bilateral civil nuclear cooperation. A press statement after the talks said, “The two leaders shared the view that nuclear energy can play an important role as a safe, sustainable and non-polluting source of energy. They agreed to facilitate development of a framework for bilateral civil nuclear cooperation.” The foundations for the possibility of such a cooperation were laid in September 2008, when South Korea supported a NSG waiver to India allowing countries to reopen nuclear trade with it. South Korea has considerable expertise in production and safety of civil nuclear projects. After his meeting with External Affairs Minister S.M. Krishna, President Lee Myung-bak said, “This is (civil nuclear) an area which will be very productive for both of us.” In December 2009, South Korea beat US-Japanese bids to win a $20 billion contract to build four nuclear power plants in the United Arab Emirates.
At its present stage of economic growth, India has a lot to learn from its new friend. South Korea, the ‘Miracle on the Han River’, is a good role model for economic development for developing countries. Not only did South Korea grow money-wise, but its literacy levels, education standards and innovativeness grew with it. This has helped create a sustainable development model for the country. The CEPA and other bilateral science and technology research cooperation agreements between India and South Korea are steps in the right direction. But the relationship needs more work.
India and South Korea have only recently began to understand the vast potential of their cooperation not only in terms of trade, but also security in the Indian Ocean and South China Sea region. As a major exporter of manufactured goods and importer of natural resources, South Korea has significant interest in protecting the sea lines of communication and trade in the region. India should take special efforts to ensure cooperation in combating piracy and protecting these sea routes if it wants to have a well-rounded ‘look-east policy’. (Since the 1990s India has tried to build upon its historical and cultural ties with South East Asian countries to expand markets, counter Chinese influence in the region and improve India’s standing as a regional power.) Without a well-developed security dimension this policy would only have been partially successful.
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