India and South Korea have agreed to upgrade the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) as early as possible to bolster trade and investment.
Visiting South Korean president Park Guen-hye and Prime Minister Manmohan Singh agreed to give a push to Posco’s steel plant in Orissa. Both the sides also inked five agreements, including in defence and space.
At the end of delegation talks with the visiting leader on Thursday in New Delhi, Singh said, ?I am happy that the large-scale Posco steel project in Orissa is set to be operational in the coming weeks, following the revalidation of its environmental clearance. Grant of mining concession for the project is also at an advanced stage of processing.? Singh said the project will further strengthen the fact that economic growth and and environmental protection need to be balanced well.
The South Korean president said while the Posco Integrated Steel Plant has been delayed, with the acquisition of land and environmental clearances now through, both sides should ensure smooth sailing for the 8 million tonne per annum steel plant in Orissa.
Both sides have agreed to establish the India-ROK Joint Trade and Investment Promotion Committee at the Cabinet level as an expanded and restructured replacement of the current India-ROK Joint Investment Promotion Committee, as per the joint statement issued after the meeting.
The agreement to revise CEPA was one of the highlights in the joint statement issued after the summit. The trade pact was signed in 2009 and went into effect the following year.
South Korea had called for revising the agreement, complaining its level of liberalisation is lower than that of similar accords India has with other nations, especially Japan, which makes Korean firms in India less competitive than Japanese rivals.