|
Special Talk by HE
Dr. Yoon Young-Kwan Hon'ble Minister of Foreign Affairs and
Trade of Republic of Korea
December 22, 2003, New Delhi
Speech by H.E. Dr. Yoon Young-Kwan, Hon'ble
Minister of Foreign Affairs & Trade of The Republic of
Korea
The Honorable Mr. Modi, President-Elect of the
Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry,
Mr. Singhania, Co-Chairman of the India-Korea
Joint Business Council,
Indian and Korean entrepreneurs,
distinguished guests,
ladies and gentlemen,
I am delighted to be here today and to have
this important opportunity to meet the leaders of the Indian
business community, taking advantage of my visit to India.
My special thanks go to the Federation of Indian Chambers
of Commerce and Industry for making this event possible.
As we know, this year marks the 30th
anniversary of establishing diplomatic ties between India
and Korea.
Looking back beyond those three decades, both
of our countries have traveled a long way. Starting off from
the shared aspiration to overcome colonialism more than half
a century ago, we have continued to uphold the same hopes
for democratization and modernization, even as we walked sometimes
on separate ways.
But, now, as the new global age began, we have
been together, with mutual admirations for the achievements
we have made. We have deep interests in each other and in
possibilities to work together.
So, today, celebrating the three decades of
diplomatic relationship here, I would like to offer you some
of my thoughts on where the Korean economy now stands, where
it is heading, and how our two economies can work together
to generate greater cooperation in the future.
The Korean Economy Today
Thirty years ago, when India and Korea first
set up diplomatic relations, Korea was already into a decade-long
efforts to leave behind its legacy of poverty and under-development.
In fact, at the time, we were gearing up for the economic
growth that the world would later recognize for its remarkable
success.
Now, thirty years later, we have become the
world's 12th largest economy in terms of GDP, and
the 12th largest exporter.
This, however, does not mean that the road we
have traveled has been entirely a smooth one. Indeed, there
have been difficulties and challenges at almost every corner.
And, we still face some of the challenges even as we speak
today.
As recently as the past five years, we have
had to overcome great roadblocks. The economic crisis that
hit the country at the end of 1997 gave us an opportunity
to rebuild our economic system with greater transparency,
accountability and efficiency
By continuing with these reform efforts even
to this day, we overcame the economic crisis and got back
on track towards continuing economic growth, thanks, in large
part, to the global IT boom in 2000.
But, this boom was short-lived, and the global
and international uncertainty led Korea to its next round
of challenges.
This year, we found ourselves facing the war
in Iraq and high oil price. Adding to these were serious problems
at home - weak consumer demand and investment, as well as
the North Korean nuclear issue. The economic slowdown during
the first half of the year concerned us greatly.
Fortunately, however, the economy made a turn
for the better in 3rd quarter and with the gradual
upswing that we are seeing today we expect to achieve 3% annual
economic growth by the year's end.
We believe this turnaround has been made possible
by the continuously robust two - digit export growth along
with the proactive and flexible macroeconomic policies maintained
by the government over the past year.
Based on the consideration of all these conditions,
the world's leading credit agencies, such as S&P, Moody's
and Fitch, have all maintained Korea's rating at the stable
"A" grade.
Korea's Economic Prospects
for Tomorrow
Now, where does all of this lead us to, in terms
of future prospects?
We are certain that the year ahead will be better
than the past year has been. We know the overall recovery
at home and abroad will bring us higher growth in the 4 to
5% range.
With these bright prospects for next year, the
government of Korea will continue its efforts to build an
economic system that is much more efficient, more productive
and more competitive.
We will focus on bringing about more transparent
corporate accounting and governance and making our financial
and labor practices more advanced to meet the highest of global
standards.
All of this will be done as we continue to uphold
market principles. Along with these reform efforts, the Korean
government will push ahead with its vision of making Korea
one of the economic centers of Northeast Asia.
Taking full advantage of our geographic location,
our outstanding telecommunications and logistics infrastructure,
and world-class human resources, we want to create a business
hub that will attract members of the international business
community by allowing them to come in freely to set up and
run their operations and providing a base fromwhich to reach
out to other markets in Asia.
We are paying special
attention to transportation and logistics, research and development,
and specialized financial services, making these the priority
business areas that will helps us build a regional business
hub in Korea.
Korea-India Economic
Cooperation
Distinguished guests,
ladies and gentlemen,
In this vision for our future, we want very much for India
to play an important role. Without a doubt, India is an economy
with some of the world's greatest potential. You have certainly
shown that to the world. All those in the global business
community who are future-oriented and think of future globalized
and integrated world markets keep a close eye on India.
There are many reasons
why. For instance, we already know that, in terms of real
purchasing power, India is the world's largest economic powerhouse
after the US, China and Japan.
Furthermore, many
analysts believe that, in terms of national production, the
world's number three position is within India's reach in the
next decade or two
Indeed, already
there is exciting potential in our bilateral economic relationship.
In the first ten months of this year, we saw trade with India
grow by as much as 53%. This is a dramatic development in
our trade relations where we have seen average annual growth
of around 7.4% since 2000.
This dramatic jump
in trade will move India from being in the top 25 trading
partners for Korea just last year to being among the top 10
this year. At this anniversary of 30 years of friendship,
the developments are definitely something we should celebrate
with true delight and excitement.
In fact, our excitement
grows even further as we look beyond the numbers and into
what is fueling this recent growth. We are moving beyond the
traditional pattern of mostly inter-industry trade where India
used to export to Korea natural resources and agricultural
products while Korea exported simple manufactured goods to
India.
Now we are seeing
increasing sophistication and growing patterns of intra-industry
trade in the products traded between our two countries, particularly
in areas that include petrochemicals, information technology,
automobiles, biotech, electronics and others.
Aside from trade,
we are also seeing a maturing relationship in investment.
Ever since the early 1990s when India began encouraging foreign
investment, Korea's leading corporation such as Hyundai, LG,
and Samsung have actively expanded their investment in India.
In fact, the records
of the past 12 years put Korea in the 5th place
among the biggest sources of foreign investment in India.
In fact, today we find some of the most globalized and advanced
forms of Korean corporations' overseas operations in Indian
cities like Noida, Banglore, Chennai and Mumbai.
What's more, India
has recently emerged as a noted investor in Korea, as is seen
in the case of TATA Motors' efforts to purchase Daewoo Commercial
Vehicle. I hope that this case opens a new horizon for Korea-India
economic cooperation.
Distinguished representative
of the Indian business community,
As Korea looks to
the future, the important of India is clear. We see in India
something much more than its gigantic domestic market. In
fact, we see in India the potential to become a hub and a
bridge through which we can reach out to the west, Central
and Southeast Asia and even all the way to Europe.
That is why we are
very serious about long-term vision and perspectives in thinking
about the future of Korea-India economic cooperation.
And, adding to that,
there is something quite obvious but too important to miss
mentioning. That is India's great pool of outstanding human
and knowledge resources.
We have so many
exciting areas where we can have these great resources of
India meet Korea's industrial and management know-how. Already,
there is much cooperation in information technology, particularly
in telecommunications, but we know we still have much more
room to grow together.
The same is true
for petrochemical, automobiles, and electronics. And, in infrastructure
building, India will be able to find world-class know-how
and experience in Korean firms. Of course, if you add in cooperation
among small – and medium-sized enterprises, we are bound
only by our imagination.
Conclusion
Distinguished guests,
ladies and gentlemen,
Being here in New
Delhi and in front of the representative of the Indian business
community, it is difficult to hide my excitement about the
new future lying ahead of us. This great country of India,
with its long and proud tradition of democracy, science, technology,
and culture, is now emerging as an economic powerhouse.
Korea is very proud
to be one of India's closest partners. Now, having the three
decades of friendship behind us, we---- together with our
friends in India like all of you here----look very much forward
to much more exciting future that lies ahead of us for the
next century and millennium, for our partnership together
down the road.
Thank you very much.
| 
