Korea-Russia Service and Investment FTA Negotiations Held via 'Video Conference'..."Mutual Agreement on Progress in Bilateral Talks"
[Asia Economy Reporter Kim Bo-kyung] South Korea and Russia held a four-day video conference this month to conduct in-depth negotiations on the Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in the service and investment sectors.
On the Korean side, a government delegation led by Jeon Yoon-jong, Director of the FTA Policy Division at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy, participated, while on the Russian side, a government delegation led by Marya Baranova, Deputy Director of the Trade Negotiations Department at the Ministry of Economic Development, attended as the chief representative.
Since the start of negotiations in June last year, the two countries have held three official negotiation rounds. By agreeing on the method of service market liberalization and the structure of the agreement text, they laid the groundwork for full-scale negotiations.
This year, due to difficulties in holding face-to-face meetings amid the spread of the novel coronavirus disease (COVID-19), negotiations on the agreement text have continued through video conferences in February and March.
This month, meetings were held via video conference for a total of four days on the 13th-14th, 16th, and 24th. Negotiations on the agreement text were conducted by subcommittees on services, investment, and general provisions, exchanging positions and specifically identifying key issues.
Despite global concerns over the spread of COVID-19, both countries once again agreed on the need to advance negotiations closely by utilizing various means such as video conferences, telephone calls, and email exchanges.
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Jeon Yoon-jong, Director of the FTA Policy Division, stated, "Despite the global spread of COVID-19, we will continue to hold video conferences between meetings, maintain momentum in the Korea-Russia service and investment FTA negotiations, and advance the talks."
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