Nitin Gadkari all set to visit Korea to boost bilateral ties and increase seafarers

New Delhi, April 9: Aiming to coarsen the relations between India and Korea in terms of shipping space and ports, Union Minister for Shipping, Road Transport & Highways and Water Resources, Nitin Gadkari is all set to be on an official visit to Republic of Korea commencing today.

During the 4 day visit, Gadkari will focus on taking forward the bilateral cooperation between India and Korea in shipping, ports, inland waterways, highways, river interlinking and infrastructure sectors. An Undertaking on Mutual Recognition of Certificate of Competency of sea-farers will be signed during the visit.

India and South Korea are set to boost bilateral ties in ports and shipping space and will sign pact to provide Indian seafarers employment on over 500 Korean ships.

Gadkari said, “Both the nations will sign an undertaking for mutual recognition of certificate of competency of seafarers. It will be beneficial to both the countries as Korea is a large ship owning nation, while India is a large seafaring nation with over 1.5 lakh seafarers. The agreement will facilitate Indian seafarers to work on Korean ships as there is requirement of seafarers. Korean entities as of now own more than 500 foreign going ships.”

Further emphasizing on the agenda of the visit, Gadkari added, signing of the undertaking, apart from creating job opportunities for Indian seafarers, will also pave the way for recognition of maritime education and training, besides various certificates for seafarers issued by the governments of both the countries. India is also looking to have partnership in the field of ship building, smart transportation system, water conservation & recycling, eco-friendly energy system for marine industries and technology to develop the country’s rivers to drive economic growth.

Gadkari's visit is aimed at strengthening ties between the two nations and further cementing cooperation in areas, including sharing of technology, experience in port development and operation and joint participation in port-related construction, building and engineering projects of mutual interest, among others.

Known for maritime technology prowess, Korea had partnered with the Ministry of Shipping in the Maritime India Summit held in Mumbai during April 2016.

India and Korea have an institutional framework for cooperation through the memorandum of understanding (MoU) for cooperation and mutual assistance to facilitate development of ports, port-related industries and maritime relationship.

Industry body Ficci is partnering to organise a coinciding visit of a business delegation from India, comprising of firms with business interests in maritime, highways and infrastructure.