PM Modi gifts woven pashmina stoles to South Korean Prez

Prime Minister Narendra Modi today presented South Korean President Park Geun-hye two finely woven pashmina stoles on which a poem that Rabindranath Tagore had written specially for Korea is hand embroidered in English and Korean.

"In the golden age of Asia Korea was one of its lamp bearers And that lamp is waiting To be lighted once again For the illumination of the East," read the text of Tagore's poem that was published in 1929 in the Korean daily Dong-A Ilbo.

Prime Minister Modi arrived in South Korea on a two-day visit today after his successful trip to Mongolia.

Meanwhile, India and Korea have decided to upgrade the bilateral relationship to Special Strategic Partnership. This was announced jointly by Prime Minister Modi and South Korean President Geun-hye after the delegation-level talks.

Prime Minister Modi said that South Korea will be the second country with which India will have a diplomatic and security dialogue in two plus two format.

He also said that India has a special focus on infrastructure and developing a world class manufacturing sector and Korea can be a leading partner in this.

Prime Minister said that the two countries will deepen cooperation in defence technology and manufacture of defence equipment.

India and South Korea have signed seven agreements including those on avoidance of double taxation, energy, road design and management, audio visual co-production and maritime transport and logistics.