India and South Korea adopt Joint Strategic Vision during President Lee Jae Myung's State Visit; CEPA upgrade talks to resume
Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held talks in New Delhi on 20 April 2026 and announced a Joint Strategic Vision for the India–ROK Special Strategic Partnership for 2026–2030.
Summary
South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held talks with Prime Minister Narendra Modi in New Delhi on 20 April 2026 during a State Visit to India from 19 to 21 April, the earliest visit to India by a Korean President after taking office. The leaders announced a Joint Strategic Vision for the India–ROK Special Strategic Partnership for 2026–2030 and agreed to hold leader-level meetings every year. Outcomes included a framework on shipbuilding, shipping and maritime logistics, joint statements on sustainability and energy resource security, a joint declaration on resuming negotiations to upgrade the India–Korea Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), and MoUs on ports, steel supply chains, SMEs, science and technology, and cooperation under Article 6.2 of the Paris Agreement. South Korea will join the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and the International Solar Alliance, India will join the Global Green Growth Institute, and 2028–29 will be marked as the Year of India–ROK Friendship. India's Defence Minister is to visit Korea in May 2026 to jointly inaugurate a memorial to India's participation in the Korean War.
Key facts
- Visit
- State Visit of President Lee Jae Myung, 19–21 April 2026; talks on 20 April
- Vision
- Joint Strategic Vision for India–ROK Special Strategic Partnership, 2026–2030
- Trade
- Talks to resume on upgrading the India–Korea CEPA
- Groupings
- ROK joins Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative and ISA; India joins GGGI
- Friendship year
- 2028–29, Year of India–ROK Friendship
- Defence
- Defence Minister to visit ROK in May 2026 for Korean War memorial
Practice MCQs 3 questions
The Joint Strategic Vision announced during South Korean President Lee Jae Myung's State Visit to India in April 2026 covers which period?
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Correct answer: B — 2026–2030
The leaders announced the Joint Strategic Vision for the India–ROK Special Strategic Partnership for the next five years, 2026–2030.
Which year has been designated the 'Year of India–ROK Friendship' as an outcome of the April 2026 State Visit?
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Correct answer: D — 2028–29
The outcomes list includes commemoration of 2028–29 as the Year of India–ROK Friendship.
Consider the following outcomes of the India–Republic of Korea State Visit of April 2026: 1. The Republic of Korea will join the International Solar Alliance and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative. 2. India and the Republic of Korea signed a new Free Trade Agreement replacing the CEPA. Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
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Correct answer: A — 1 only
Only 1 is correct. Korea is joining the ISA and the Indo-Pacific Oceans Initiative, but the two sides only issued a joint declaration on resuming negotiations to upgrade the existing CEPA; no new FTA was signed.