The RoK's Presidential Office said President Moon Jae-in and his Philippine counterpartRodrigo Duterte made the pledge during their meeting held on the sidelines of aspecial summit between the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations(ASEAN) and the RoK in the southern port city of Busan.
At the meeting, the two sides agreed on the need to open their commoditiesmarket at an early date and vowed to work together for substantive progress inthe ongoing FTA negotiations, so that they can strike a deal sometime in 2020.The two sides began their FTA talks in June.
They also discussed ways to boost bilateral relations in trade, investment,defence cooperation, infrastructure, energy and people-to-people exchanges.
On the occasion, the two leaders signed separate deals on increasing pensionbenefits for workers in each other's countries, and bolstering tourismcooperation.
This year also marks the 70th anniversary of diplomatic relations between the RoKand the Philippines./.