The Tiger and the Elephant: Fifty Years of Korea-India Diplomatic Ties and Directions for Long Term Cooperation

In 2023, Korea and India celebrated a historic milestone, commemorating the 50th anniversary of their formal diplomatic relationship. The two nations officially established diplomatic ties on November 21, 1973, but it was much later that bilateral trade and investment began to thrive. In the late 1990s, India shifted its focus to Korea’s automobile and IT industries, and several Korean industrial giants, including Hyundai Motor, LG, and Samsung Electronics, entered India. In 2009, the two countries signed the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), which marked the beginning of what would become a robust trade relationship. Six years later, both countries agreed to deepen ties, and formed a Special Strategic Partnership, using the CEPA as a foundation for enhanced cooperation. India liberalized its economy in 1991, which paved the way for rapid economic growth to follow. Throughout the 2000s, Indian GDP expanded by an average of seven percent annually. In 2021, it emerged as the world’s sixth-largest economy, with a nominal GDP of approximately USD 3.14 trillion. This growth is set to continue unabated; ratings agency S&P Global projects that the Indian economy will expand by an annual average of 6.3 percent throughout the 2020s, eventually eclipsing Japan and Germany and propelling it to third place globally. Against a backdrop of declining Korean exports to China and the ASEAN member states, Korea is faced with the challenging of diversifying its export markets. This paper explores pathways for cooperation with India with a view toward establishing India as a major export partner.