ASEAN and the Republic of Korea are currently in the process of upgrading its existing free trade agreement, according to Satvinder Singh, the deputy secretary-general for ASEAN Economic Community.
Jakarta (VNA) - ASEAN and the Republic of Korea are currently in the process of upgrading its existingfree trade agreement,according to Satvinder Singh, the deputy secretary-general for ASEAN EconomicCommunity.
Singh revealed that two-way trade totalledalmost close to 200 billion USD in 2021. These figures made the RoK became ASEAN’sfifth-largest trading partner. In 2021, the RoK's foreign direct investment (FDI) inflows in ASEAN reached 7.1 billion USD. And an upgraded free trade agreement isexpected to pave the way for stronger economic ties.
Singh said at the 2023 ASEAN-Korea Trade & Investment Roundtable last week, many other free trade agreements between ASEAN and otherdialogue partners, including the RoK, are in the pipeline for upgrade and review.
He emphasised that the two sides arenegotiating some of these upgrades, where they will see the innovations thatcome in supporting region-to-region, as well as the strengthening of the globalsupply chain. This is an area where many the RoK’s conglomerates are looking todiversify from their current operations in Asia, North Asia.
Singh affirmed ASEAN’s readiness to help Korean firms to not only reorganise their global supply chain fordiversification but also to have a low carbon footprint.
In 2005, ASEAN and the RoK inked the FrameworkAgreement on Comprehensive Economic Cooperation. This led to the signing offour key agreements, including a deal on progressive tariff reduction andelimination, that became the legal instruments for the ASEAN-RoK Free TradeArea (AKFTA). The AKFTA came into effect in 2010.
Besides the AFTA, the 10 ASEAN member statesand the RoK are also signatories of the Regional Comprehensive EconomicPartnership (RCEP) agreement. This is the world’s largest trade deal, with itssignees representing about 30% of the global gross domestic product (GDP)./.
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Illustrative image (Photo: Internet)
