RoK President Moon Jae-in (right) and his Indonesian counterpart Joko Widodo (Source: Yonhap)
Hanoi (VNA) – The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy of the Republic of Korea (RoK) said on February 19 that it has decided to resume talks on the signing of the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) with Indonesia after a hiatus of five years.
Trade Minister Kim Hyun-chong met his Indonesian counterpart Enggartiasto Lukita in Jakarta, and the two sides will resume talks to accelerate the signing.
While the RoK clinched a free-trade agreement with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) in 2007, Seoul started discussions on signing a separate agreement with Indonesia starting 2012 to forge deeper ties and meet specific needs between the two countries.
The discussion, however, did not make significant progress, with the last meeting being held in February 2014 without any follow-up measures.
The issue emerged again when Indonesian President Joko Widodo visited the RoK in September last year and met President Moon Jae-in, with the two leaders acknowledging the importance of resuming the CEPA talks.
Minister Kim said the CEPA will help Seoul and Jakarta expand exchanges and ties, claiming the two sides will aim to clinch a mutually beneficial agreement that encompasses trade, investment, and economic cooperation.
The ministry plans to complete the negotiation within this year.-VNA
VNA
