This special report is the outcome of a research project called, “The converging interests of South Korea and India: President Moon’s New Southern Policy and Prime Minister Modi’s Act East Policy”. With financial support from the Korea Foundation, the Observer Research Foundation (ORF) conducted the project in association with the Institute of East and West Studies of the Yonsei University in Seoul. The papers in this volume were written by ORF scholars who were involved in the implementation of the project. In October 2019, these papers were presented in a major conference that ORF organised in Seoul.

The reason for selecting the subject for the project is that India-ROK partnership carries a great deal of purpose and substance. The two countries have successfully developed a robust, multi-dimensional partnership encompassing a wide range of interests including regional economic cooperation, maritime security, energy cooperation, counterterrorism, and nuclear disarmament. In the recent years, they have shown interest in the evolving economic and strategic architecture in the Indo-Pacific region and both strongly believe that the emerging order should be open, rules-based, and free from the undue influence of any single country. Since both depend on sea-borne trade for their economic prosperity, they share a strong commitment to ensure that every country has a right to freedom of navigation and unimpeded commerce and overflight in open seas. Both also believe that no country should use force as a right to settle disputes or change the status quo.