Prime Minister Narendra Modi and his South Korean counterpart, President Yoon Suk Yeol, held talks on Saturday and agreed to enhance cooperation in defence and bio-health sectors, reported Reuters, citing Yoon’s office.

The meeting was held on the sidelines of the G7 summit in Hiroshima, Japan as South Korea and India were invited to the summit as guest countries.

The two leaders met on the sidelines of the summit of the Group of Seven (G7) advanced economies in Hiroshima.

“PM @narendramodi had a productive meeting with @President_KR Yoon Suk Yeol. India and the Republic of Korea share a warm friendship and deep-rooted cultural linkages. Today’s talks focused on ways to further cement this friendship in key developmental sectors,” the Ministry of External Affairs (MEA) tweeted.

“Advancing – Special Strategic Partnership. PM @narendramodi met @President_KR Yoon Suk Yeol of the Republic of Korea,” it said.

During the meeting, they reaffirmed their commitment to further strengthen bilateral ties as the two nations celebrate 50 years of diplomatic relations this year, it said.

They agreed to deepen cooperation in areas of trade and investment, high technology, IT hardware manufacturing, defence, semiconductor, and culture, the ministry said

They also discussed India’s G20 presidency and South Korea’s Indo-Pacific strategy, it said.

India is presently holding the presidency of the G20 grouping.

South Korea launched its first comprehensive regional strategy, the Indo-Pacific Strategy in December 2022.

The US, India and several other world powers have been talking about the need to ensure a free, open and thriving Indo-Pacific in the backdrop of China’s rising military manoeuvring in the resource-rich region.

China claims nearly all of the disputed South China Sea, though Taiwan, the Philippines, Brunei, Malaysia and Vietnam all claim parts of it. Beijing has built artificial islands and military installations in the South China Sea. China also has territorial disputes with Japan in the East China Sea.

Modi arrived in Hiroshima on Friday to attend three sessions at the G7 summit following an invitation by Japanese counterpart Fumio Kishida.

(With inputs from PTI)