India, Korea natural partners, held substantive talks with Jaishankar: South Korean FM Park Jin to WION

South Korean Foreign Minister Park Jin said that his country and India will "pursue contributive diplomacy, to contribute to freedom, peace and prosperity of the world". The visiting minister met with Indian External Affairs Minister Dr. S Jaishankar on Friday to discuss the strengthening of ties between the two countries.

The meeting comes as both countries celebrate 50th anniversary of the establishment of diplomatic relations between India and Republic of Korea, and the two ministers discussed plans for future cooperation in a range of areas.

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Speaking to WION's diplomatic correspondent Sidhant Sibal, South Korean Foreign minister said, "Korea and India are natural partners. India is the largest democracy in the world and also moving very fast on economic development and also scientific and technological innovation. So, Korea and India are mutually helping each other to contribute to the international community". The minister also spoke about India's G20 Presidency, soft power and his Hindi speaking skills.

Here's the complete interview:

WION: You are on an India visit, you just paid homage to Mahatma Gandhi, your comments.

Park Jin: Yes. I cherish the noble spirit of Mahatma Gandhi's Satyagraha, which advocates democracy and human rights. I think that's the core values that we share with India. India as Korea's Special strategic partner. And together with India, Korea will pursue contributive diplomacy, to contribute to freedom, peace and prosperity of the world. I had the honor to visit the cemetery 27 years ago, when I was serving as a presidential press secretary. At the time, I was very much impressed by Mahatma Gandhi's words, the seven sins such as politics without principle, commerce without morality, science without humanity. These are the teachings and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi, that modern society should always remind ourselves of. So today, I'm very happy to come back to Mahatma Gandhi cemetery and remind his noble philosophy.

WION: You met the Indian external affairs minister Dr S Jaishankar, what was the conversation like, you also spoke in Hindi which has been the talk of the town.

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Park Jin: Well, I took a quick course in Hindi. Hindi is a very different language. But I can feel the national character of India through my learning of Hindi language. I think that Korea and India are natural partners. India is the largest democracy in the world and also moving very fast on economic development and also scientific and technological innovation. So, Korea and India are mutually helping each other to contribute to the international community. So yesterday, Foreign Minister Jaishankar, who is my good friend, and I had a very substantive and future oriented discussion about our bilateral partnership to commemorate the 50 years of our diplomatic relationship. Now we have to prepare for another 50 years, Korea, India partnership so in that sense, my meeting with Dr. Jaishankar was very helpful and very meaningful.

WION: How do you see India's G 20 presidency, your part of the G 20. Grouping, India is the president of the G 20 grouping?

Park Jin: G20 has a very heavy responsibility and roles to play, especially towards the countries in the Global South. So we discussed that together yesterday. And in September, when the G 20 summit meeting takes place in India, then I think that we will have to present a new vision for global society, because we are faced with many common challenges. Such as the COVID 19 pandemic, global crisis, and value chain disruptions and global technological competition. So these are the problems that no one country can solve. And, in that sense, Korea and India have to work together to deal with the common challenges that the whole of humanity is facing.

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WION: So my last question to you is soft power, South Korea's Soft power is well known K pop but India's focus also has been on its soft power. Your embassy here was in the news for the Natu Natu song. What's your view about a soft power and of course Natu Natu..

Park Jin: I love Indian Bollywood movies. I've seen many movies myself, and Rise, Row and Revolt with Natu Natu dancing and singing, it is a fantastic culture of India. Many Koreans appreciate this wonderful culture of your country. And also I know many young Indians are interested in Korean K Pop, K music, K drama, K movie and K food. So we need to exchange our cultural assets between our two countries, so that we can move forward to the future. So Korea and India have great potential to develop together.

WION: Few words in Hindi...

Park Jin: I have to remember Namaste. Namaste, ap logon se mil kar acha laga, mera name Park Jin hai, mai Korea ka foreign minister hun. (Hi, great to meet you, my name is Park Jin and I am the foreign minister of South Korea).

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