Remarks by EAM Dr. S Jaishankar during his meeting with FM Cho Hyun of RoK (June 24, 2026)

Excellency, Minister Cho Hyun, let me say first of all that it’s a great pleasure to be back in Seoul and to meet you and your team today for our discussions. And I agree with you I think our meeting is very timely, timely partly because we are following up on a Presidential visit just recently but timely also because of the state of the world and the importance of our relationship in this somewhat complicated world.

Minister, my colleagues reminded me that from the time when you assumed the post of a Minister, we have actually met in New York, in Kuala Lumpur and Washington, at the G7 Foreign Minister’s Meeting and of course recently during the President’s visit. But I tell them exactly as you say that yes we have met recently but I have known him a long time. So I do think today that as Foreign Ministers it is clearly our responsibility to take this relationship forward, to oversee what different parts of the government and different parts of our economy of our country do with each other in their interaction. In coordinating that, and I would say forward looking among, more contemporary relationship in a more difficult world. And that world Minister particularly requires I think countries that are like minded, countries which share values, countries who have strong mutual trust to work with each other.

Again as you noted, the Presidential visit and the meeting of our Prime Minister with your President at the G7 in Evian - These have been recent leadership occasions where guidance has been given to us on how to take those ties forward. What I do want to assure you this from our side there is full commitment that the potential of our relationship which many of us I think on both sides feel there is lot that remains to be realised that we would strive to do that.

And I do want to also take the occasion to recognise your personal commitment to the relationship from the very moment you assumed this post, you have been sending that strong signal which I hope I have equally strongly reciprocated from our side. And we very much value the personal commitment that you have got to this relationship, so I look forward to very very productive talks.

Seoul
June 24, 2026