President Lee Jae-myung on the 21st wrapped up a three-day, two-night state visit to India and headed to Vietnam, the second stop on the tour.
In the afternoon, the president boarded Air Force One, the presidential jet, at Palam Airport in New Delhi, India. The Indian side prepared photos taken at the official welcome ceremony the day before, and the president also posed holding a photo album.
Becoming the first Korean president to visit India in eight years, the president held a summit with Narendra Modi and attended a separate business forum and a meeting with the Korean community. The two sides agreed to officially launch negotiations next month to upgrade the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) and conclude them by the first half of 2027, and they joined forces to expand bilateral trade by signing 15 government memorandums of understanding (MOUs) and 20 MOUs between corporations.
In Vietnam, the president plans to meet the new Vietnamese leadership, including the new prime minister and National Assembly chair, to lay the groundwork for bilateral cooperation. On the 22nd, a summit will be held with To Lam, general secretary of the Communist Party and state president, and on the 23rd, meetings will also be held with Le Minh Khai, the No. 2 in the hierarchy, the prime minister, and Tran Thanh Man, the No. 3, the National Assembly chair.
The two countries plan to broaden cooperation to reach $150 billion in trade by 2030, not only in semiconductors, electronic components, artificial intelligence (AI), and science and technology, but also in energy transition, critical minerals, infrastructure, and nuclear power. Korea is also expected to seek ways for its corporations to take part in Vietnam's national infrastructure projects, including the Southeast New City and Gia Binh New Airport.
During the president's visit to Vietnam, the "2026 Korea Culture and Tourism Expo," which introduces Korea by linking Korean Wave content and tourism, will also be held. The plan is to support an era of 5 million mutual visits, 200,000 Korean compatriots abroad, and 100,000 Korea-Vietnam multicultural families by revitalizing people-to-people exchanges such as tourism.
The business delegation for the Vietnam leg is said to include SK Group Chair Chey Tae-won, who also heads the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (the Korea Chamber of Commerce & Industry), as well as Samsung Electronics Executive Chair Lee Jae-yong, Hyundai Motor Group Chair Chung Eui-sun, LG Group Chair Koo Kwang-mo, HD Hyundai Chair Chung Ki-sun, and Hyosung Chair Cho Hyun-joon.