India and South Korea on Monday decided to begin discussions on enhancing their Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA), a move aimed at strengthening trade ties amid rising global uncertainty and supply chain disruptions caused by geopolitical tensions.

The decision came after a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Lee Jae Myung.

The pact was discussed during a meeting between commerce and industry minister Piyush Goyal and his Korean counterpart Yeo Han-koo.

"We discussed ways to resume and revamp the India-Korea CEPA (comprehensive economic partnership agreement) upgrade negotiations and explored opportunities for deeper cooperation in industrial cooperation, green energy and digital trade," Goyal said in a post on social media.

The two countries are looking at the upgradation of CEPA, which was operationalised in January 2010. So far, over 10 rounds of review talks have been held.

India has earlier sought greater market access for certain products like steel, rice, and shrimp from South Korea to boost exports of these goods.

India had also flagged issues over Korean firms not buying Indian steel.

India has, multiple times, raised concerns about the growing trade deficit between the two countries.

India's exports to Korea dipped 9.3 per cent to USD 5.81 billion in 2024-25 from USD 6.41 billion in 2023-24. Imports dipped marginally by 0.34 per cent to USD 21 billion in 2024-25.

Following the talks, Modi said that cooperation between India and South Korea sends a strong signal of stability and harmony at a time when the world faces growing conflicts and divisions.

Both leaders also pledged to deepen coordination to support peace, security and stability across the Indo-Pacific region.

"Following President Lee's visit, we are going to transform our trusted collaboration into a futuristic partnership," Modi said.

The bilateral trade and economic relations gathered momentum following the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in 2010.

"From chips to ships, talent to technology, entertainment to energy, we will realise new opportunities for cooperation in every sector," he added.

"Through our shared efforts, we will continue to contribute to a peaceful, progressive, and inclusive Indo-Pacific," he said.

The talks also focused on enhancing ties in areas of trade, investments, AI, semiconductors, critical and emerging technologies, and people-to-people connect.