India-South Korea defence engagements made immense progress in recent years: Rajnath

Defence Minister Rajnath Singh on Tuesday said that defence engagements between India and South Korea have made immense progress in recent years.

"Defence engagements between India & RoK have made immense progress in the recent years. India's Indo-Pacific vision shares many commonalities with RoK's New Southern Policy. We recognise that unity and centrality of ASEAN must be a key element in developing an Indo-Pacific vision," he tweeted after holding "extensive deliberations" with the Defence Minister of Republic of Korea, Jeong Kyeongdoo-Doo here.

The Defence Minister said their talks were "extremely fruitful" and aimed at further deepening bilateral defence cooperation.

"The Defence Industry cooperation has been one of the most vibrant aspect of bilateral defence cooperation between India & RoK. Today we exchanged the Roadmap on Defence Industries cooperation which includes a list of possible areas of cooperation," tweeted Singh.

Singh said he looks forward to investment by the South Korean companies in Indian defence corridors.

"The Defence Corridors present excellent opportunity for RoK industries to establish their manufacturing units, benefit from the skilled & economical labour force, natural resources and tailored incentives," he said.

The Defence Minister added: "We recognise the influence of Artifical Intelligence and digital technology in defence sector. The theme of DefExpo-2020 in Lucknow is 'Digital Transformation of Defence'. India and RoK are ready to leverage mutual strengths in digital application and other advance technologies.