I am privileged to assume office at this very exciting juncture, when India South Korea bilateral relations have acquired great vibrancy and have also become truly multifaceted. The decision to elevate our ties to the level of Strategic Partnership, taken during the landmark visit to India, of President Lee Myung-bak in January 2010 and operationalization of bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with effect from 1 Jan 2010, have proven to be watershed events. The return State visit of President Pratibha Devisingh Patil to Seoul in July 2011, further consolidated the engagement process.

It is heartening that bilateral trade has surged 70% in two years since, to over $ 20.5 billion by end 2011. Billions of dollars in investments have flown in both directions and the ground has been paved to take trade to $ 30 billion by 2014. The Indian Chamber of Commerce in ROK (ICCK) is playing an active and useful role in promoting business and trade between India and ROK.( http://indiachamberskorea.twaserver4.com/)

Our ties are being nurtured by regular high level exchanges and close people to people contacts. This Embassy issued over 81,000 visas in 2011, an all time high. Collection of visa applications have been outsourced to BLS Service Korea Co, Seoul (http://www.blsindiavisa.kr/ and 1600-9984)to provide quick, friendly and efficient visa services. The Embassy of India and BLS stand ready to effect further improvements and welcome feedback at or or .

Given the keen interest in Indian cultural traditions of our Korean friends an Indian Cultural Centre has been recently established in Seoul (http://indoculture.org/) which offers regular Yoga, Kathak and Hindi classes, besides holding a variety of cultural events throughout the year. Indians are also invited to join the Annapurna Indian Women’s Club, Seoul, functioning under the patronage of the Embassy, (http://annapurnaseoul.blogspot.com) which provides an excellent forum for Indians to meet, network and celebrate the best of our traditions.

Finally on behalf of members of the Mission and my own, I would like to invite all friends - Korean, international and Indian - to avail of a range of services and facilitation offered by this Embassy. Please feel free to contact the concerned member (s) of the Mission as per details given in the website (https://indembassy.or.kr/ContactUs.aspx?Cul=en-US)