High-ranking trade officials from South Korea and Australia agreed to boost cooperation in the Indo-Pacific region, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy reported in this capital on Tuesday. According to the Ministry, the South Korean Ministry’s chief trade negotiator, Yeo Han-koo, and his Australian counterpart, Dan Tehan, held a virtual meeting of the joint Free Trade Agreement (FTA) Committee, the fifth of its kind since December 2014. Yeo stated that South Korea expects such a platform to play a crucial role in enhancing regional cooperation on a wide range of issues, including digital trade, clean energy and supply chains.
For his part, Tehan noted that consultations for the official launch of the FTA are likely to begin next April and May, emphasizing deeper trade and investments between the key regional stockholders. The parties formed a complementary cooperative structure and maintain a close economic relationship in various sectors, according to the Ministry. Bilateral trade between South Korea and Australia reached an all-time high of 42.7 billion dollars last year, up 71 percent from 2020.