A fortnight-long lecture series “Facets of Modern India” will be held via video conference from Tuesday, aiming to provide a better understanding of the world’s largest democracy and one of the fastest growing economies.

Hosted by the Embassy of India and the Indian Cultural Centre in Seoul, renowned experts from India will speak on themes such as India’s strategic thinking, foreign policy, economy, democracy, media and its approach to international security during the lecture series.

The forum, which runs from Sept. 1-14, opens with the inaugural address “The Idea of India” by Vinay Sahasrabuddhe, President of the Indian Council for Cultural Relations.

Others sessions include: Indian Philosophical Traditions by Professor Makarand R. Paranjape, Director at Indian Institute of Advanced Study, on Sept. 2; Indian Economy in Transition by Amb. Mohan Kumar, Chairman at Research and Information System for Developing Countries, on Sept. 4; Indian Foreign Policy: Continuity & Change, by Amb. T. C. A. Raghaven, Director General at Indian Council of World Affairs, on Sept. 8; and Disarmament and international security: An Indian Perspective by Amb. Amandeep Gill, Project Director & CEO, I-DAIR, Geneva, on Sept. 10, among others.

Each session, which will be held from 3-4:30 p.m. Korean time, will comprise of a speech or presentation by the expert followed by interactions with the audience.

Sessions will be conducted in English with simultaneous Korean interpretation.

India -- home to 1.35 billion people -- is an important diplomatic partner for South Korea as the Moon Jae-in government seeks to widen its diplomatic horizons beyond the four regional powers surrounding the Korean Peninsula – the US, China, Japan and Russia.

To this end, in late 2017, the Moon government launched its New Southern Policy to deepen ties with India and ASEAN’s ten member countries.

During Moon’s visit to India in February 2019, Moon and Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi agreed to expand their bilateral trade, which was estimated at about $20.6 billion last year, to $50 billion by 2030.

By Ock Hyun-ju (laeticia.ock@heraldcorp.com)