During the meeting between Prime Minister H.E. Shri Narendra Modi of India and H.E. Mr. Lee Jae Myung of the Republic of Korea (ROK) on the occasion of the latter’s state visit to India on 20 April 2026, the two sides had productive and in-depth exchange of views on mutually beneficial cooperation between their government agencies and private entities for partnership in shipbuilding, shipping and maritime logistics.
India and the ROK are both nations with rich maritime traditions and share extensive common interests and complementary strengths in the domain of maritime industries. With India’s rapid economic growth and internationalization of its economy, the maritime sector is extremely critical to India’s security and prosperity.
Both sides agreed that India’s maritime ambitions under Maritime Amrit Kaal 2047 Vision have created considerable opportunities for long-term collaboration with the ROK, a friendly nation with leading shipbuilding and maritime capabilities. Cooperation in shipbuilding, port development and maritime logistics could channelize the India-ROK Special Strategic Partnership towards practical benefits and economic value for both nations, while forging deeper understanding and partnership among their peoples.
The Indian side briefed the ROK side about opportunities to set up large-scale greenfield shipbuilding clusters in the country and the incentives available under the Government of India’s Shipbuilding Development Scheme as well as incentives provided by relevant state governments and Indian financial Institutions for the same. The Indian side invited leading shipbuilders from the ROK as technical and strategic anchors for these clusters through active involvement in design, production engineering, advanced manufacturing, quality and safety frameworks and operation. The ROK side expressed expectation for the advancement of cooperation based on the participation of the business sector.
To this end, both sides took positive note of the collaborations between Korean Industries and India, such as the conclusion of a non-binding MOU among the Korean shipbuilder HD Korea Shipbuilding & Offshore Engineering Co., Ltd. (HD KSOE), the identified cluster developer and facilitator, and the capital provider Maritime Development Fund (MDF) for joint development, financing, implementation, operation of a large greenfield shipyard in southern India. They hoped for early implementation of the project.
India has announced the 400+ vessels acquisition plan by the public agencies in India alone for the foreseeable future with a total value of Rs. 2.2 lakh crore (~USD 25 bn) during the India Maritime Week 2025. Taking note of the Government of India’s production-based financial support to local manufacturing, the two sides supported the cooperation of relevant industries from India and the ROK to establish an effective cooperation mechanism to channel this demand into bilateral partnerships, enhancing sustainable and resilient shipbuilding industry.
In recognition of the financial assistance provided by the Government of India for shipyards undertaking brownfield capacity expansion, the two sides supported the collaboration between Indian and the ROK businesses to upgrade existing Indian shipyards, including on a Block Fabrication Facility being built in southern India to support a new dry dock to construct large and specialized vessels.
The two sides believe that the policy and fiscal support from the Government of India for Indian shipbuilding would generate additional demand for components used in shipbuilding and ancillary industries, providing specialized Korean shipbuilding component manufacturers an attractive market to expand their business through local production. To this end, they welcomed the opening of a branch of the Korea Marine Equipment Association (KOMEA) in Mumbai and the interest of Korea Marine Equipment Research Institute (KOMERI) for related cooperation. They also agreed to enhance cooperation among relevant institutions and enterprises of both countries to support the growth of Indian shipbuilding ecosystem.
The two sides agreed to cooperate on skill training in the shipbuilding sector in India through a project to be implemented by Korea International Cooperation Agency (KOICA) in partnership with the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways (MoPSW) of India. They noted that this project will contribute to capacity building needed for India’s shipbuilding goals through development cooperation and public-private partnership between the two countries.
Indian side also encouragedKorean shipowners to use India’s GIFT IFSCA and E-Samudra to flag vessels in India, in order to benefit from relaxed ownership structures and available financial incentives.
It was noted that India’s rapidly growing seafarer pool (around 320,000 + with a strong growth in women seafarers) allows Korean ship-owners to recruit manpower to support Korean-flag operations.
The two sides welcomed the signing of an MOU between MoPSW of India and the Ministry of Oceans and Fisheries in the ROK for cooperation for port development, which entails collaboration in infrastructure development, knowledge sharing, etc. This opens opportunities for Korean port developers and terminal operators to participate in India’s strong PPP mechanization pipeline amounting to an estimated USD 13.3 billion in the next 5 years, including the 23 million TEU Vadhvan container port (Maharashtra), 150 MTPA multipurpose terminal in Bahuda (Odisha), 135 MTPA modern terminal of Deendayal Port (Gujarat), among others.
The two sides welcomed an MOU signed between Bharat Earth Movers Limited of India, HD Korea Shipbuilding and Offshore Engineering Co., Ltd (HD KSOE) and HD Hyundai Samho Co., Ltd of the ROK to jointly design, manufacture, and support next-generation conventional and autonomous maritime & port cranes in India.
The two sides took positive note of the ongoing discussions between Indian Maritime University (IMU) and Korea Maritime & Ocean University (KMOU) and encouraged them to finalize a strategic partnership in maritime education, research, and innovation with joint programs in naval architecture, marine engineering, and port management; collaborative R&D on green shipping technologies, autonomous vessels, and crane automation; and innovation hubs for student exchanges, faculty collaborations, and industry-linked projects with involvement of Indian and the ROK businesses.
The two sides also recalled with pride the ancient origins of the two countries’ maritime heritages. The Indian side shared that the National Maritime Heritage Complex (NMHC) is being developed at Lothal in the Gujarat State of India as the world’s largest maritime complex. The two sides welcomed the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding on cooperation in the field of Maritime Heritage to facilitate sharing, exchange of artefacts and information, technological support, joint activities, collaboration with universities, museums, and institutions.
Prime Minister Modi and President Lee expressed satisfaction over the direction and content of the progress made in cooperation between India and the ROK in the fields of shipbuilding, shipping and ports. They expressed confidence that, in the coming years, the India-ROK partnership will deliver benefits for the two countries and the world at large.
Speaking on the occasion, Shri Jaitley said, the digital version of the Calendar 2015 also reflected the vision of the government in taking forward the benefit of technology in information dissemination as no one could defy the growth and movement of technology. Technology today was operating on a real time basis. Important information related to Government communication was embedded in the Digital version thereby providing critical information to the people at large. The Minister also lauded the efforts of Directorate of Advertisement and Visual Publicity, DAVP, for developing the Digital version of the Calendar with socially relevant messages which would be accessible on real time basis through mobile phones.
This year’s calendar has been developed on the theme of “Clean India Green India” with focus on “Swachhta” and environment issues. The January page of the Calendar displayed the launch of the “Swachh Bharat Mission by Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi. While the February page carried the message of ‘Swachh Vidyalaya’ and ‘Bal Swachhta Abhiyan’, the March page was designed on the theme, ‘Rejuvenating Rivers.’ The April Page of the Calendar portrayed “Clean Hospitals: A Healthy India,” May depicted the cleanliness drive of Railways, June focussed on Rejuvenation of the River Ganges, ‘Namami Gange’, and July on people’s participation in Swachh Bharat Movement. The August page was on the theme of Clean Villages; September month highlighted Solar Energy as clean and renewable source of energy; October depicted Wind Power as pollution free source of energy and November emphasized the need to preserve Himalayan Ranges. Wildlife conservation was the theme for the December month. 
Minister of State for Information and Broadcasting, Shri Rajyavardhan Rathore, and Secretary, Ministry of I&B, Shri Bimal Julka along with senior officials of the I&B Ministry were also present on the occasion.
