President of the Republic of Korea Moon Jae-in (left) and Cambodian Prime Minister Hun Sen. (Photo: Yonhap News)Hanoi(VNA) – The Republic of Korea said on June 11 that it has made further progressin fleshing out details for the planned free trade agreement (FTA) withCambodia, as Seoul seeks to broaden economic ties with Southeast Asian nationsand diversify its export portfolio.
The RoK plansto hold a public hearing on the envisioned FTA on June 12 by inviting relatedexperts, which is mandatory under the local law before seeking a commercetreaty, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
In November,the two countries launched a joint feasibility study on their potential FTA inline with the RoK’s summit with ASEAN.
They completedthe study last month and agreed to start domestic procedures to pave the wayfor official talks.
The RoK'sexports to Cambodia reached 696 million USD last year, up 5.5 percent from ayear earlier. Its imports from the Southeast Asian country came to 335 millionUSD, up 6.8 percent year-on-year.
The countrymainly shipped textile materials and used freight trucks to Cambodia andimported finished clothing goods.
ASEANcomprises Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, thePhilippines, Thailand, Singapore and Vietnam./.
VNA
