Korea and Singapore Hold Second Round of FTA Improvement Talks

South Korea and Singapore are set to engage in their second official negotiations to modernize the trade norms of their free trade agreement (FTA), which marks its 20th anniversary this year. The discussions will focus on enhancing cooperation in new trade areas, including supply chains and the green economy, as well as strengthening collaboration in aviation maintenance, repair, and operations (MRO).

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced on July 7 that the second round of official negotiations for the Korea-Singapore FTA improvement will take place over two days in Seoul, concluding on July 8.

Approximately 30 representatives from both countries will participate, led by Park Geun-o, Director of Trade Agreement Policy at the Ministry, and Tan Rui Hai, Director of Northeast Asia at Singapore's Ministry of Trade and Industry.

The Korea-Singapore FTA, which came into effect in 2006, is the first FTA that South Korea signed with an ASEAN member. The two nations agreed to commence the FTA improvement negotiations during a summit in March, exchanging a joint declaration, and held the first official talks in Singapore in April.

This round of negotiations aims to expand the scope of the existing agreement to reflect changes in the global trade environment over the past 20 years. The first round of talks focused on four main areas: supply chains, the green economy, aviation MRO, and trade facilitation.

During the second round of negotiations, both countries plan to continue discussions in various sectors to strengthen their comprehensive trade cooperation. They aim to expand the cooperation framework to address global supply chain uncertainties and enhance collaboration in new trade areas, particularly in the aviation MRO sector.

Singapore is South Korea's second-largest trading partner and investor among ASEAN countries, serving as a key gateway to the Southeast Asian market. The government aims to establish norms that reflect the changing trade environment through this FTA improvement, thereby broadening the foundation for domestic companies to enter the Singapore market.

Park Geun-o stated, "Singapore is South Korea's second-largest trading partner and investor in ASEAN. We will do our utmost to achieve negotiation results that will assist our companies in entering the Singapore market through the modernization of trade norms in this improvement negotiation."