Korea and India Joint Declaration on Resuming CEPA Improvement Negotiations
(New Delhi = Yonhap News) Reporter Kim Do-hoon – Negotiation Headquarters Director Ye Han-koo of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy and Indian Minister of Commerce Piyush Goyal are taking a commemorative photo after exchanging the joint declaration document on resuming CEPA improvement negotiations, in the presence of President Lee Jae-myung and Prime Minister Narendra Modi at the New Delhi State Guest House on April 20th (local time). 2026.4.20 [email protected]
(Seoul = Yonhap News) Reporter Jang Bo-in – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on the 25th that Korea and India have officially resumed negotiations for the improvement of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) after two years.
The negotiations will continue until the 27th in New Delhi, India, with a delegation of over 60 participants, led by Korea’s Park Geun-oh, Director of Trade Agreement Policy, and India’s Kapil Chaudhary, Director General of the Ministry of Commerce.
In this 12th improvement negotiation, both countries aim to narrow differences in seven areas including goods, services, rules of origin, and new trade norms, targeting a substantive outcome by the end of this year or the first half of next year.
The 11th official negotiation was held in July 2024 in Seoul.
Since the announcement of CEPA in 2010, Korea and India have continued improvement negotiations since 2016 in response to changing trade environments and to establish a close economic cooperation relationship.
However, discussions have effectively stalled in recent years due to disagreements on key issues.
Both countries have been consulting this year to restart the improvement negotiations, agreeing to resume talks through a joint declaration during last month’s summit meeting.
Park Geun-oh, Director of Trade Agreement Policy, commented, “We will strive to establish a trade-friendly environment for Korean companies in India and improve the CEPA to encompass emerging trade agendas such as digital trade and supply chain cooperation.”