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S. Korea, India sign co-production treaty

May 18, 2015
Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, shakes hands with South Korean President Park Geun-hye prior to their meeting at the presidential Blue House Monday, May 18, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, left, shakes hands with South Korean President Park Geun-hye prior to their meeting at the presidential Blue House Monday, May 18, 2015 in Seoul, South Korea. (Chung Sung-Jun/Pool Photo via AP)

SEOUL, May 18 (Yonhap) — South Korea and India Monday signed an audio-visual co-production agreement that will enable film producers to tap into various incentives offered by both governments.

The Audiovisual Co-production Treaty was signed in Seoul between Yoon Sang-jik, Minister of Trade, Industry and Energy, and Indian vice foreign minister Anil Wadhwa, the Ministry of Culture, Sports and Tourism said in a joint press release with the Trade Ministry.

The signing ceremony was also attended by President Park Geun-hye and visiting Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi.

This is the latest agreement South Korea has signed, following similar pacts with Australia, China and New Zealand.

The pact calls for treating co-productions as national products and making them eligible for the same benefits as domestic titles.

Officials expect the agreement will boost exports of Korean films and television dramas to India, which is already the world’s sixth-largest audiovisual market and is expected to grow 10.4 percent on an annual average for the next five years.

The two countries have pushed for the signing of the treaty since the bilateral free trade pact called the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) came into force in January 2010.