South Korea and Indonesia have agreed to launch joint study on the feasibility of a free trade agreement (FTA) between the two countries, the foreign ministry said Friday.
The two sides plan to conduct four rounds of bilateral meetings starting in June this year with a goal of kicking off official negotiations on bilateral free trade pact in November, when the leaders of the two countries are scheduled to meet, according to the ministry.
South Korea already has a similar trade accord with the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN), where Indonesia is a member, but the bilateral deal will help further strengthen their economic ties, the ministry said in a statement.
Indonesia is South Korea's 10th biggest trade partner, and the second biggest partner in ASEAN, with their bilateral trade volume estimated at 22.9 billion U.S. dollars last year./.