Seoul, April 28 South Korea and Singapore officially kicked off negotiations for improving their bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) this week, Seoul's trade ministry said on Tuesday, amid the two countries' push to deepen economic ties in the face of global trade uncertainties.
The two countries held the first round of FTA improvement negotiations in Singapore, discussing issues in supply chains, the green economy and maintenance, repair and overhaul in the aviation industry, as well as ways to facilitate bilateral trade, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources.
The talks are taking place as South Korean Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo is visiting Singapore, and about a month after the two countries agreed to kick off negotiations during a leaders' summit last month.
During the visit, Yeo also held meetings with Singapore's Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Trade and Industry Gan Kim Yong, Minister-in-charge of Energy and Technology Tan See Leng and Minister-in-charge of Trade Relations Grace Fu. The meetings allowed the exchange of views on pending trade issues between the two countries, the ministry said.
The issues included improving the bilateral FTA between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and bolstering supply chain cooperation in the energy, biopharmaceutical and other sectors.
The minister also held separate meetings with global energy trading firms based in Singapore, including Vitol and Trafigura, as well as four major Korean oil refineries operating in the country to discuss responses to global energy uncertainties amid the Middle Eastern crisis.
Additionally, the minister explored opportunities to expand Singapore's investment in Seoul's advanced industries and boost Korea's consumer goods exports to the Southeast Asian nation through talks with officials from Singapore's sovereign fund Temasek and biggest e-commerce firm Shopee, according to his office.
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