India Perceives South Korea As A Strong Partner For Shipbuilding Capacity Expansion & Strengthening Maritime Security

Seoul: India sees South Korea as a strong partner in its efforts to expand shipbuilding capacity and strengthen maritime security, Minister of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Sarbananda Sonowal, said on Tuesday, underscoring New Delhi's ambition to become one of the world's top five shipbuilding nations by 2047.

In an interview with Yonhap News Agency, Sonowal also stressed that South Korea's experience in achieving rapid economic transformation offers critical lessons for India as it pursues its "Viksit Bharat 2047" vision, the country's key initiative aimed at becoming a developed country by the 100th anniversary of its independence. As part of the initiative's maritime goal, New Delhi seeks to become one of the world's top ten shipbuilding countries by 2030 and ultimately one of the top five by 2047.

The government plans to invest $24 billion in the initiative and to expand its commercial fleet from 1,500 to 2,500 vessels to strengthen self-reliance. Achieving such targets will require international partnerships, the minister noted, saying South Korea's advanced shipbuilding technology and experience in building "reliable and timely ships with high quality specifications" makes the country an essential partner for India, according to the Yonhap report. "South Korea's unique strengths: precision engineering, liquefied natural gas (LNG) expertise and highly efficient production systems can accelerate India's climb up the global shipbuilding ladder," he said.

The minister added that India can draw important lessons from South Korea's own economic development journey, which demonstrates the value of a "focused industrial policy, technology absorption and disciplined workforce." "Korea's success shows how targeted incentives, sustained innovation through government-industry-academia tie-up can rapidly scale capabilities, which is highly relevant to India's 2047 aspirations," the minister said.

In July, HD Hyundai signed a partnership agreement with India's state-owned Cochin Shipyard Ltd. to promote bilateral cooperation in shipbuilding, marking the first time a South Korean shipbuilder has forged a partnership with an Indian company. Sonowal said he expects such shipbuilding cooperation to bring significant long-term benefits for both countries. India's geographic advantages, including its proximity to Africa, South and West Asia and the shipping route between Asia and Europe, also makes it an attractable and cost-competitive production base for Korean firms, he added.

In September, the Indian government approved a package worth around Rs 697 billion ($8 billion) to revitalise India's shipbuilding and maritime sector and to expand domestic shipbuilding capacity. "Korea can be a strategic investor and capability partner helping India adopt cutting-edge ship designs, production processes, automation, green ship technologies, and global quality standards," Sonowal said.

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