New Delhi, April 20 (IANS) President Lee Jae Myung stressed the need for South Korea and India to work together to ensure safe passage through the Strait of Hormuz in an interview published on Monday, also highlighting the need for joint efforts to stabilise global supply chains. In a written interview with The Times of India, held before his summit talks with Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, he noted that the effective closure of the critical shipping route due to the prolonged conflict between the United States and Iran has been driving up global oil prices while also disrupting supply chains for key industrial materials, reports Yonhap news agency."Both the Republic of Korea and India depend on the Middle East for a significant share of their energy supplies, including crude oil and natural gas. Accordingly, ensuring the security of critical maritime routes is essential to the safety of our peoples and the very survival of our nations," Lee said, referring to South Korea by its official name.

Lee and Modi were set to hold a bilateral summit later in the day, which would mark their third in-person meeting since Lee took office last year.The president said South Korea will collaborate with India on multilateral efforts to ensure safe passage through the strategic route and diversify energy supply chains to address uncertainties in the global economy."Korea will maintain close communication with India to ensure that all vessels can navigate the Strait of Hormuz safely and freely," he said. "We will also continue to work together in relevant international forums to uphold this shared commitment."As part of efforts to reduce heavy dependence on imported energy and raw materials, Lee expressed hope to expand cooperation in critical mineral supply chains.

"By moving beyond the traditional model of importing raw material and combining Korea's technology with India's mining and refining industries, we can work together to establish stable critical-mineral supply chains," he said.Lee also stressed the need to step up collaboration in strategic sectors, such as artificial intelligence, defense, and the shipping and shipbuilding industries, to deepen economic ties and create synergy between the two countries."Beyond traditional sectors such as electronics and automobiles, we will broaden cooperation into shipbuilding, finance, and the defence industry," he said.

/IANS