New Delhi [India], August 17 : Noting that he had good meeting with External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar on Saturday, South Korean Foreign Minister Cho Hyun recalled his tenure in Delhi as Ambassador from 2015 to 2017, stating that significant changes were made in India under Prime Minister Modi's leadership and that "more good changes" have been made during the past ten years.
In an interview with ANI, Cho Hyun said it is great to be back in Delhi and when he landed in the city about 10 years ago, he was humbled by the depths of India's culture.
"I feel great to be back in Delhi and ten years ago, I landed in Delhi and I was very much humbled by the depths of the culture and the largest of the subcontinent and the people. I was very proud to serve as the Korean Ambassador to India, during which time I recognised the significant changes made in India under Prime Minister Modi's leadership...Now I see even more good changes that have been made during the past ten years. So I'm very glad to be back here, meet my friends," Cho Hyun said.
Cho Hyun recalled that when he served as Ambassador, he had meeting with S Jaishankar who served as Foreign Secretary from 2015-18.
He said they discussed various issues and explored ways to enhance the bilateral relationship.
"It was a good meeting and I used to meet him when I was here and he was the Foreign Secretary. We discussed various issues and explored ways to enhance our bilateral relationship, addressing both the geopolitical and geo-economic challenges our countries face," Cho Hyun said.
He also expressed solidarity with India over the Pahalgam terror attack and the country's fight against terrorism.
"We are very stern and firm on this issue. We are strongly against any terrorist attack. We stand by the Indian government and the people of India," he said.
In his opening remarks during the meeting with the visiting South Korean leader, Jaishankar said "it's not very often that you have a chance to welcome an old friend as a new colleague".
"So, it's a very special privilege to welcome you back to India. Please accept my congratulations on your appointment, you have been barely a month in the job, the fact that you are here literally a day after your National Day, and our National Day, says a lot really about the value we attach to the relationship," Jaishankar said.
"Let me also take the opportunity to extend our greetings to you for the National Liberation Day of Korea, and your visit, I think, in many ways, comes at a very important time - it is the 10th anniversary of our Special Strategic Partnership, and I had the privilege of being with the Prime Minister when he met your President in Kananaskis in Canada. It was, by the way, a very good meeting I must tell you, they had very strong bonding," he added.
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