Lee to depart for state visits to India, Vietnam in effort to deepen economic ties
Published: 16 Apr. 2026, 17:44
Updated: 16 Apr. 2026, 20:37
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- SARAH KIM
- [email protected]
![National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac gives a press briefing on President Lee Jae Myung’s six-day trip to India and Vietnam at the Blue House in central Seoul on April 16. [NEWS1]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/34e2e311-9dce-4a9c-ab5e-46b4d9bdf410.jpg)
National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac gives a press briefing on President Lee Jae Myung’s six-day trip to India and Vietnam at the Blue House in central Seoul on April 16. [NEWS1]
President Lee Jae Myung will make a six-day trip to India and Vietnam for state visits, aiming to deepen economic and strategic cooperation amid global uncertainties, the Blue House announced Thursday.
On Sunday, Lee will depart for a three-day state visit to New Delhi and hold talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Monday, National Security Adviser Wi Sung-lac said in a press briefing at the Blue House in Seoul.
Lee will head to Hanoi for a four-day state visit on Tuesday to hold talks with To Lam, Vietnam's president and the general secretary of the Communist Party. The Vietnamese president made a state visit to Korea in August of last year, the first state guest of the Lee administration. Lee will become the first state guest for Vietnam's new leadership, which took office earlier this month.
After arriving in New Delhi, Lee is scheduled to meet with the Korean community residing in India.
On Monday, Lee will lay a wreath at a memorial park for India's independence leader, Mahatma Gandhi, and later hold a summit with Prime Minister Modi to discuss ways to develop the two countries' special strategic partnership. The leaders will then take part in a signing ceremony for memorandums of understanding (MOU), a joint press conference and a state luncheon.
"We will open a new chapter in economic cooperation between the two countries in strategic sectors such as shipbuilding, finance, AI and the defense industry," Wi said on the expected results of Lee's India leg. "Our countries will maintain close coordination regarding energy supply chains amidst the turbulent international situation caused by the Middle East war."
![President Lee Jae Myung, right, shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of their first summit on the sidelines of the Group of 7 summit in Canada on June 17, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/580a356a-94cc-46be-9658-d01f63a3a3ee.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, right, shakes hands with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi ahead of their first summit on the sidelines of the Group of 7 summit in Canada on June 17, 2025. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
Lee and Modi previously held talks on the margins of the Group of Seven summit in Canada in June of last year and the Group of 20 gathering last November.
This marks the first state visit by a Korean president to India in eight years, and the quickest visit to the South Asian country by a Korean leader since taking office, Wi said.
In Hanoi, Lee will meet with the Korean community living in Vietnam on Tuesday. On Wednesday, he will hold a bilateral summit with To Lam and attend an MOU signing ceremony, a joint press briefing and a state banquet. The two leaders will also visit the Imperial Citadel of Thang Long.
On Thursday, Lee will meet with Vietnamese Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh and National Assembly Chairman Tran Thanh Man.
Lee will also attend a Korea–Vietnam business forum to discuss future-oriented economic cooperation in areas such as trade and investment, AI, science and technology and energy transition, Wi said.
"Through this visit, Lee aims to strengthen mutually beneficial and strategic cooperation with Vietnam in key sectors, including nuclear energy," Wi said. "Amid growing global uncertainties, [the leaders] will seek to stabilize energy supply chains and enhance cooperation in critical minerals."
![President Lee Jae Myung, right, shakes hands with Vietnamese leader To Lam during their summit at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Aug. 11. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]](https://koreaseafood.online/data/photo/2026/04/16/0ef09724-5735-4aad-89aa-b603566f66a7.jpg)
President Lee Jae Myung, right, shakes hands with Vietnamese leader To Lam during their summit at the presidential office in Yongsan, central Seoul, on Aug. 11. [JOINT PRESS CORPS]
"Amid growing global uncertainty, our countries will also strengthen communication to build an economic security partnership, including cooperation on energy and supply chain stability and critical minerals," Wi said.
Lee is expected to be accompanied by a large-scale business delegation on his trips to India and Vietnam, including heads of Korea's top conglomerates, according to industry sources. This includes the leaders of Korea's top four conglomerates — SK, Samsung, Hyundai and LG.
BY SARAH KIM [[email protected]]
with the Korea JoongAng Daily
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