Moon shine: on India-South Korea ties
India-South Korea ties have drifted too long — political ownership of them will help
That South Korean President Moon Jae-in undertook a four-day visit to India this week, when there is hectic(व्यस्त/प्रचंड)diplomacy(कूटनीति) over the Korean peninsula, speaks of his commitment(वायदा/सौंपना) to improving bilateral(द्विपक्षीय) ties. In fact(तथ्य/वास्तविकता), during(दौरान/की अवधि में) his election campaign(अभियान) last year he had promised to raise bilateral ties to the level of South Korea’s relations with what it calls the four major(प्रमुख) powers: the U.S., Russia, China and Japan. Prime Minister Narendra Modi too has often(अक्सर ) said he sees South Korea as a significant(महत्वपूर्ण/सार्थक) partner for India, and had travelled(यात्रा की) to Seoul. But despite(बावजूद/विरोध) the personal touch, and ambitions(महत्वाकांक्षा/लालसा) to align(श्रेणीबद्ध करना/पंक्ति में करना) India’s Act East policy with Korea’s New Southern Policy, ties(संबंधों ) have drifted(बहाव कर दिया) for lack(अभाव) of focus. Trade, at $20 billion, is a fraction (भाग/अंश)of the potential, given that India and South Korea are Asia’s third and fourth largest economies. This figure(आंकड़ा) has been a cause(कारण/वजह) for worry(चिंता), as the two countries had hit the $20-billion mark in 2011 after the signing of the Comprehensive(व्यापक/विस्तृत ) Economic(आर्थिक)Partnership(भागीदारी) Agreement(समझौते). The large trade(व्यापार) deficit(घाटा) in South Korea’s favour has led India to be wary(सावधान/चौकन्ना) of further opening up. In turn, Korean companies cite problems in doing business in India, despite a special “Korea Plus” desk set up by the Prime Minister’s Office in 2015. Tourism(पर्यटन) between the two countries has always been low, and strategically(रणनीतिक रूप से) both New Delhi and Seoul are preoccupied(बेचैन/चिंताकुल) with tensions in theirimmediate(तत्काल/तुरन्त) neighbourhoods and ties with the big world powers than with each other.
On Mr. Moon’s watch, this may change. Both Mr. Modi and he exuded(जताया) a sense of purpose and there is a clear road map on converging(परिवर्तित करना/मिलना) interests(हितों को/दिलचस्पी). Agreement to invoke(अभिमंत्रित करना/विनती करना) the “early harvest” clause in the 2010 CEPA will allow both to do away with tariffs in 11 areas, benefiting Indian seafood exporters(निर्यातकों ) and food processing(प्रौद्योगिकी/प्रसंस्करण) units, as well as South Korean petrochemical companies. The inauguration(उद्घाटन) of Samsung’s biggest mobile factory in Noida will bring investment and create jobs in India. More Korean companies should be persuaded(राजी/आश्वस्त) to invest, by projecting a counter-narrative to the failed bid(बोली/आदेश देना) by the steel company Posco to set up its plant in Odisha. Much will depend on negotiations(वार्ता/बातचीत) on the regional(क्षेत्रीय ) free trade agreement, the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership. On the strategic front, India hasasserted(दावा करना/द्दढ़तापूर्वक करना) its place as a “stakeholder(हितधारक/दाँवधारी)” in the Korean peace process, while South Korea has for the first time shown an interest in talking about an Indo-Pacific policy. In the short term, a symbolic(प्रतीकात्मक) token towards shared interests will be seen in a joint “capacity-building” programme in Afghanistan. At a time when U.S. foreign policy is capricious(मनमौजी/मज़बूत) and unpredictable(अप्रत्याशित है), and China’s is making purposeful(उद्देश्यपूर्ण/महत्त्वपूर्ण) moves towards global domination, it is important that the South Korea-India partnership grows and consolidates(संघटित करना), to contribute(योगदान) to stability(स्थिरता/मज़बूती) in the region.
Important Vocabulary
1.Hectic(व्यस्त/प्रचंड)
Synonyms: boisterous, chaotic, exciting, frenetic, frenzied
Antonyms: calm, peaceful, quiet, easeful, leisurely
2.Ambitions(महत्वाकांक्षा/लालसा)
Synonyms: appetite, aspiration, desire, energy, enthusiasm
Antonyms: apathy, aversion, disgust, dislike, distaste
3.Comprehensive(व्यापक/विस्तृत )
Synonyms: all-inclusive, broad, complete, encyclopedic, exhaustive
Antonyms: empty, incomplete, limited, narrow, needy
4.Converging(परिवर्तित करना/मिलना)
Synonyms: nassemble, concentrate, mingle, coincide, combine
Antonyms: disperse, scatter, avoid, differ, disagree
5.Invoke(अभिमंत्रित करना/विनती करना)
Synonyms: appeal to, conjure, adjure, beg, beseech
Antonyms: answer, give, reply
6.Asserted(दावा करना/द्दढ़तापूर्वक करना)
Synonyms: affirm, allege, argue, cite, claim
Antonyms: abandon, conceal, deny, desert, hide
7.Capricious(मनमौजी/मज़बूत)
Synonyms: arbitrary, careless, erratic, fickle, flighty
Antonyms: cautious, constant, predictable, reasonable, reliable
8.Consolidates(संघटित करना),
Synonyms: build up, cement, centralize, concentrate, develop
Antonyms: decrease, discourage, disperse, dissuade, hurt
9.Purposeful(उद्देश्यपूर्ण/महत्त्वपूर्ण)
Synonyms: calculated, deliberate, determined, intense, persistent
Antonyms: irresolute, weak, aimless, thoughtless, undetermined
