Phnom Penh (FN), Oct. 26 – Cambodia and the Republic of Korea officially signed the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) via video conference on Tuesday.

The duo concluded the negotiations in February 2021.

The virtual signing ceremony took place under the presidency of Cambodian commerce minister Pan Sorasak and his South Korean counterpart Yeo Han-koo.

This CKFTA negotiation is the initiative of Cambodian prime minister Hun Sen, during the State visit of South Korean president Moon Jae-in to Cambodia in March 2019, aiming to strengthen and expand friendship, economic and trade ties between the two countries, according to Ministry of Commerce’s press release seen by Fresh News on Tuesday.

This Agreement will enter into force 60 days after the two sides inform each other via diplomatic channel about the conclusion of the internal procedures for ratification.

This bilateral FTA covers Trade in Goods including Standards, Technical Regulations and Conformity Assessment Procedures, Sanitary and Phytosanitary Measures along with Trade Remedies, Rules of Origin, Customs Procedures and Trade Facilitation, Economic Cooperation, Transparency, Dispute Settlement, Exceptions, Institutional Arrangements and Final Provisions.

“The Agreement will boost export growth, increase gross domestic product and employment opportunities, and help speed up the economic recovery of the two countries affected by COVID19 by expanding more market liberalization in addition to ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) and the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership (RCEP). In particular, this Agreement will further boost Cambodia’s export to the Republic of Korea, such as garment and textiles, footwears, bags, spare parts, electronics, rubber and agricultural products.”
=FRESH NEWS