Korea-Russia Service and Investment FTA Inter-Session Meeting Held... "Improving Conditions for Our Companies' Market Entry"

Four-Day Video Conference from March 23 to 26... "Conducting In-Depth Negotiations"

[Image source=Yonhap News]

[Asia Economy Reporter Moon Chaeseok] South Korea and Russia will hold a four-day virtual meeting from the 23rd to the 26th to reach a substantial agreement on key provisions during the intersessional meeting of the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on services and investment.

The South Korean delegation, led by Jeon Yoonjong, the FTA Policy Officer of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, will attend as the chief representative, while the Russian delegation will be led by Mariya Baranova, Deputy Director of the Trade Negotiation Department at the Ministry of Economic Development.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy stated that during this intersessional meeting, negotiations on the agreement text will be conducted by sector, including services, investment, and general provisions. The goal is to reach a substantial agreement on key provisions.

Both countries reaffirmed the need to advance negotiations closely through virtual meetings, conference calls, and email exchanges despite global concerns over the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19).

Since the start of negotiations in June last year, the two countries have held three official negotiation rounds. Through these, they agreed on the method of liberalizing the service market and the structure of the agreement text, laying the groundwork for full-scale negotiations.

Marking the 30th anniversary of diplomatic relations this year, both countries are striving to accelerate the negotiations further.

Policy Officer Jeon said, "We will actively respond to the Korea-Russia services and investment FTA negotiations to improve conditions for our companies entering the Russian service market and to strengthen protection for our investors."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.