SKorea pushing for FTA with S'pore

SKorea pushing for FTA with S'pore

SEOUL: South Korea will this week make a formal offer to Singapore to negotiate a free trade agreement, officials here said Tuesday.

South Korean trade minister Hwang Doo-Yun is to attend a World Trade Organization (WTO) ministerial meeting in Sydney on Thursday and Friday and will meet his Singaporean counterpart George Yeo to discuss the trade deal.

"Meeting with minister Yeo on the sidelines of the WTO meeting, minister Hwang will make an official offer to strike a free trade agreement," said Park Jin-Ho, a spokesman for Hwang.

South Korea struck its only free trade agreement with Chile in October after three years of bargaining, while Singapore's first accord with New Zealand came into effect in 2001.

The Southeast Asian city-state, whose fortunes are heavily dependent on external trade, has since struck similar deals, including with Japan and Australia.

Singapore is also in free trade talks with Canada, Mexico and the United States. -- AFP