Asean-Korea FTA completes
Asean economic ministers on Tuesday signed the investment agreement with South Korea, marking the completion of the Asean-Republic of Korea (ROK) Free Trade Agreement (FTA).
The agreement on trade in services between the two came into force on May 1.
The signing took place in Jeju Island, where Asean and Korea commemorated the 20 th Anniversary of ASEAN-ROK Dialogue Relations.
Total trade volume between Asean and the ROK had substantially doubled in the last five years from US$46.4 billion in 2004 to $90.2 billion in 2008. There has been a steady increase in mutual investment between Asean and the ROK amounting to $6.8 billion in 2008, which is more than five times the amount of $1.3 billion in 2004. The number of visitors between the two regions expanded by more than twofold in the past five years, averaging four million people per year.
Bilateral trade volume is expected to increase to $150 billion by 2015 through the FTA and other complementary trade arrangements.
"To this end, we agreed to utilise the Asean-Korea Centre to facilitate promotional activities for trade and investment, including product exhibitions, exchange of trade and investment missions, and exchange of information on trade and investment," said the statement issued after Tuesday's meeting.
Hosted on the sidelines was the Asean-Korea CEO Summit.
To forge cooperation in all modes of transportation, including logistics, Asean and South Korea expect to conclude the Asean-South Korean memorandum of understanding on transport cooperation by the end of this year.
To further boost trade, investment and tourism, they agreed to begin discussions on an air services agreement covering both passengers and airfreight by early next year.
Both sides reaffirmed their commitment to stimulating economic growth in the region and standing firm against protectionism, stressed the importance of the Chiang Mai Initiative multilateralisation, and supported the strengthening of the Asian bond market initiative.
Recognising that the recent food and energy crises are not confined to any specific country, and that global cooperation is essential in dealing with the crises, they also agreed to establish the Asean Plus Three emergency rice reserve to ensure food security in the region.
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