Text Fwd: S. Korea, India to hold talks over CEPA, bilateral cooperation

Yonhap News
S. Korea, India to hold talks over CEPA, bilateral cooperation
2011/01/17 16:46 KST

S. Korea, India to hold talks over CEPA, bilateral cooperation SEOUL, Jan. 17 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and India will hold minister-level talks this week over their bilateral free trade accord and economic cooperation, Seoul's trade ministry said Monday.

During a meeting in India on Thursday, South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong-hoon and his Indian counterpart A. Sharma will discuss ways to further boost economic ties between the countries, one year after their free trade pact went into effect early last year.

South Korea and India implemented their free trade agreement on Jan. 1 last year, known as a comprehensive economic partnership agreement (CEPA) that covers services and investment as well as competition and other issues.

Overall, the CEPA is expected to boost bilateral trade by as much as $3.3 billion annually, according to estimates by the state-run Korea Institute for International Economic Policy (KIEP).

Trade volume between South Korea and India jumped 41 percent last year from a year earlier to US$17.1 billion, the trade ministry said.

South Korea exported goods worth $11.4 billion to India last year, up 43 percent from a year earlier. Seoul's imports of Indian goods jumped 37 percent to $5.7 billion over the cited period, according to the ministry.

Seoul has free trade pacts in effect with 16 nations. South Korea is also in talks with 12 other nations over free trade accords.

In December of last year, South Korea and the United States reached a final trade agreement focusing on U.S. demands that South Korea soften its automotive safety and environmental standards.

A similar pact with the European Union (EU) is also set to go into effect in July.

sam@yna.co.kr