SEOUL, Feb. 14 (Yonhap) — South Korea and a group of Arab countries will hold a new round of negotiations for their free trade deal in Saudi Arabia this week, Seoul’s trade ministry said Tuesday.
The seventh round of talks for a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) will be held for a three-day run through Thursday, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.
The GCC consists of six countries — the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar and Kuwait.
The two sides will discuss various issues, including goods and services trading, ways to improve trade conditions, digital trade and intellectual property rights, the ministry said.
South Korea and the GCC resumed FTA negotiations last year after a 13-year hiatus, with the last session taking place in Seoul in October.
The two sides agreed to push for a trade deal in 2007 and had three rounds of talks between 2008 and 2009. But their negotiations stalled as the council announced a suspension in 2010.
Trade volume between the two sides came to US$46.6 billion in 2020, according to government data.
The sixth free trade agreement negotiations between South Korea and the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) take place at a Seoul hotel on Oct. 24, 2022, in this file photo provided by the South Korean trade ministry. (PHOTO NOT FOR SALE) (Yonhap)
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(YONHAP NEWS)