The Trade Ministry of the Republic of Korea said on April 17 that the country has agreed with the Philippines to launch negotiations on a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) as part of efforts to boost economic ties.
During her visit to the Philippines, RoK Trade Minister Yoo Myung-hee met her Philippine counterpart, Ramon Lopez.
At their talks, the two ministers agreed to negotiate on a free trade agreement (FTA) with the goal of finalising the details in time for the summit between the RoK and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) this November.
Among ASEAN members, the Philippines is the RoK's fifth-largest trading partner. The bilateral trading volume between the two came to 15.6 billion USD in 2018.
Earlier, the RoK signed FTAs with with Vietnam and Singapore, and is currently conducting free trade negotiations with Malaysia and Indonesia./.