"The talks are expected to serve as an occasion to deepen and expand the strategic partnership that the two nations agreed upon in 2010," Noh Kwang-il, a Seoul foreign ministry spokesperson, was quoted as saying by the news agency.
Seoul’s Foreign Minister Yun Byung-se and India's External Affairs Minister Sushma Swaraj will meet on Monday to discuss increasing cooperation in defense, trade, science and technology, as reported by Yonhap.
According to the news agency, the meeting is also meant to pave the way for South Korea's plans to invite India’s President Narendra Modi to Seoul next year.
Swaraj will be the highest ranking Indian official to visit Seoul since Modi came into power in May. However the two countries have held foreign minister-level joint committee meetings beginning in 2007 and in 2010 upgraded their bilateral relations to a strategic partnership.
In a joint statement earlier this year, the two countries also highlighted their plans to accelerate political and economic cooperation. India is viewed as a strategic market for South Korea due to the country's rapid growth and industrialization, as well as Modi’s government reforms intended to provide greater market access to foreign investors.
