NOIDA: Prime Minister Narendra Modi and South Korean President Moon Jae-in rode the metro on Monday afternoon to Noida from Delhi, a short journey that symbolised how far Noida has come from a suburb of Delhi to a mobile hub that now hosts the world’s largest cellphone unit.As Modi and Moon inaugurated the Samsung facility in Sector 81 in a programme titled ‘Make for the World’, it was also a statement of ambition. The PM saw the occasion as a major impetus for his government’s Make in India initiative.“This is a moment of proud for the country, state and Noida,” the PM told his audience. “Make in India initiative is not only an economic policy initiative but also aims to strengthen ties with developing economics like South Korea ,” Modi said, before highlighting the impact of Korean products in the day-to-day lives of Indians.“I always say, whenever I meet the people from the business community, there is hardly a middle class family in India where one does not find at least one Korean-made product. Certainly, Samsung has made a good place in the lives of Indian citizens,” he said. “We will be able to produce best electronic devices with Korean technology and Indian manufacturing support. This is our bilateral strength and mutual vision,” the PM added. Underlining the importance of Samsung opening its largest unit in terms of production capacity here, Modi said India was second in terms of mobile-phone manufacturing in the world and in the last four years, the number of phone units had increased to 120 from 2 — 50 of which are located in Noida and Greater Noida.Samsung has pumped in Rs 4,915 crore for expanding its Noida unit, from where it plans to not only cater to the Indian market but also export phones to Europe, West Asia and Africa. It has the capacity to churn out 1.2 crore phones per month.“Our Noida factory, the world’s largest mobile factory, is a symbol of Samsung’s strong commitment to India and a shining example of the success of the government’s Make in India programme. Samsung is a long-term partner of India. We make in India, make for India, and now we will make for the world,” said H C Hong, CEO of Samsung India.UP chief minister Yogi Adityanath, who was also present at the event, said the state government had set up 22-km long power line in the area in just four months to facilitate the electronic giant’s expansion. He also recalled an ancient emotional bond with Korea — “the marriage of a princess from Ayodhya to a South Korean prince, 2,000 years ago”.The South Korean President addressed the India-Korea business forum and visited Gandhi Smriti with Prime Minister Modi before boarding the metro to Noida on the Blue line, from Mandi House at 4.36 pm. They reached Botanical Garden at 5.02 pm and went to the venue by road. On the way back, the duo boarded the metro again from Botanical Garden metro at 6.56 pm and reached Mandi House at 7.21 pm. They boarded a regular train. Later in the evening, Metro services were running around 15 minutes late.The Prime Minister had also taken a metro ride with former French President Francois Hollande to Gurgaon to inaugurate the interim secretariat of the International Solar Alliance (ISA).Modi had also taken the metro during his Australian counterpart Malcolm Turnbull’s visit to the Akshardham Temple in east Delhi.Speaking at the business summit in Delhi, Moon Jae-in said, “Our bilateral trade of $20 billion annually, although not insignificant, is falling below our expectations. I hope my summit tomorrow (Tuesday) with Prime Minister Modi helps take our economic relationship to the next level.” He said improving economic relations with India was a key element of his country’s new southern policy.

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