G20 Summit: South Korea, India to forge deeper cooperation in economy, security

Johannesburg, Nov 23 South Korean President Lee Jae Myung held back-to-back talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Brazilian President Luiz Inacio Lula da Silva on the sidelines of the Group of 20 (G20) summit in Johannesburg, South Africa, to discuss bilateral cooperation, South Korea's presidential office said on Sunday.

During his meeting with PM Modi, Lee expressed hope to forge deeper cooperation in the economy, culture and security, as well as people-to-people exchanges, the office said.

Modi praised South Korea's advanced shipbuilding capabilities and a small-group cooperative framework with South Korea in future-oriented sectors, such as shipbuilding, while also expressing hope to strengthen bilateral cooperation in the defense industry, according to the office.

"The two leaders agreed on the need to boost bilateral cooperation in various areas, such as artificial intelligence and the defence industry, and push for working-level consultations," the office said in a release.

During the talks, Modi invited Lee to India, and Lee expressed hope to visit India to further promote bilateral ties, it said.

Separately, Lee met with Lula to explore ways to enhance cooperation between the two governments in the areas of economy, culture and security, as well as between their private sectors.

They also exchanged views on economic policy, income redistribution, and democracy, and extended invitations to visit each other's country, the office said.

On the margins of the G20 summit, Lee held separate summits with French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Friedrich Merz on Saturday.

Lee also said that his government will consider ways to improve voting rights for overseas Koreans, including the introduction of electronic voting.

During a meeting with Korean residents in South Africa, Lee noted that many of the roughly 4,000 Korean nationals in the country have traveled long distances to cast their ballots due to sparsely located polling stations and suggested the adoption of an electronic voting system to alleviate their inconvenience.

"In fact, there is no problem with electronic voting. Even political parties use electronic voting to elect their leaders," Lee said. "Its stability has already been verified, so there is no issue."

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