Sonowal begins South Korea visit to seek shipbuilding and maritime cooperation

Ports, Shipping and Waterways Minister Sarbananda Sonowal began a four-day visit to South Korea on 25 October 2026 to seek cooperation in shipbuilding, shipping, ports and maritime logistics, according to a ministry release issued through PIB. His opening engagement in Busan was with Indian professionals working in Korea’s shipbuilding sector.

Sonowal sought suggestions on shipyard productivity and project execution, workforce skills, and technology and manufacturing cooperation between the two countries. The release says his programme includes meetings with shipbuilding industry leaders, maritime bodies and research institutions, as well as participation in a World Maritime Day ministerial roundtable in Busan. Those later engagements are scheduled activities, not completed outcomes.

The ministry linked the visit to VOYAGES, a cooperation framework adopted in April covering shipbuilding, shipping and maritime logistics. That framework predates this trip; the release does not announce a new shipbuilding contract, committed investment amount or completed shipyard project from the visit.

India’s ambition to become one of the world’s top five shipbuilding nations by 2047 remains a target. The minister’s discussion of future demand for engineers, designers, welders and other specialists is not a quantified hiring announcement.

Source: Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways, Press Information Bureau, 25 October 2026. Original KROV English report and Telugu adaptation of the official release.