PolicyShipping
Sonowal opens Korea visit in Busan, asks Indian shipyard workers to bring their skills home
The Shipping Minister told Indians working at Samsung Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean and HD Hyundai that India needs shipbuilders, engineers and welders as it chases a top-five place by 2047.
Key points
- Sarbananda Sonowal began a four-day visit to South Korea in Busan on Sunday.
- India wants to be among the world's top five shipbuilding nations by 2047.
- He will join a World Maritime Day ministerial roundtable in Busan during the trip.
Shipping Minister Sarbananda Sonowal opened a four-day visit to South Korea in Busan on Sunday, telling Indian engineers and managers working in Korean shipyards that India needs their skills as it tries to build a shipbuilding industry of its own.
Sonowal, who holds the Ports, Shipping and Waterways portfolio, met Indian professionals from Samsung Heavy Industries, Hanwha Ocean, HD Hyundai, the classification society DNV and the Indian Register of Shipping. India’s Ambassador to South Korea, Gourangalal Das, welcomed the gathering.
India has set itself the goal of becoming one of the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by 2047. Sonowal said the country needs more shipbuilders, marine engineers, naval architects, designers, welders, project managers and technology specialists, and called the professionals’ presence in Korea a source of pride.
He asked them to bring their Korean experience back to India, or to back Indian companies from Korea and act as a bridge between the two countries. He urged them to mentor young Indians and to take part in the India Ship Technology Centre and the India-KOICA shipbuilding skills partnership.
The cooperation rests on the VOYAGES framework for shipbuilding, shipping and maritime logistics, adopted in April during South Korean President Lee Jae Myung’s state visit to India. Sonowal told the group to see it as “a platform for your professional growth and for India’s maritime future.” He asked for practical suggestions on shipyard productivity and project execution, on building a skilled workforce, and on deeper cooperation in technology, manufacturing and innovation.
The rest of the trip
Over the next three days Sonowal is to meet heads of global shipbuilding companies, maritime industry bodies, think tanks and research institutions. He will also join a ministerial roundtable in Busan for World Maritime Day, which ministers from major maritime nations and the Secretary-General of the International Maritime Organization are expected to attend. No agreements were announced on the first day.