The President on a three-day state visit to India, met high-ranking politicians there on Monday (Jan 25).

In a meeting with Sushma Swaraj, the new leader of the opposition Bharatiya Janata Party, The President congratulated her on her inauguration and discussed parliamentary-level cooperation between Korea and India.

They also exchanged ideas on boosting collaboration in both countries'' science and technology sectors including IT businesses and nuclear energy development.

The President and India''s Vice President Mohammad Ansari, in the following meeting, made a positive assessment of the steady bilateral development between the two nations in various fields, and pledged to foster such a relationship in a future-oriented manner based upon the results of his state visit to India.

Then The President and foreign minister S. M. Krishna briefly touched upon ways to strengthen their cooperation, both bilateral and regional.

The president and ruling Indian Congress Party Leader Sonia Gandhi welcomed the implementation of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement between the two countries early this year, and expected to witness an enlarged bilateral trade in the near future.

He also highly appreciated the contribution of the distinguished families of Gandhi and Nehru to India''s development, while the ruling party leader promised to The President to channel efforts to bolster the two countries'' relations based on their historic and cultural bonds.

At the state banquet at Rashtrapati Bhavan, the Presidential Palace, The President expressed gratitude for India''s President Pratibha Patil for inviting him as Chief Guest to the main events of "Republic Day" (Jan 26). The President also applauded President Patil for her outstanding leadership in the development and prosperity of the Republic of India, and hoped the two countries will expand the scope of bilateral cooperation from economy and commerce to IT and nuclear energy sectors.

Meanwhile, President Patil agreed with The President''s idea that Korea-India future cooperation has great potential, and pledged to boost cooperation with Korea on such global issues as climate change and the Group of Twenty (G20) meeting.