Trade minister discusses deeper economic cooperation with ASEAN ambassadors

Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo met with ambassadors from the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) on Monday to discuss ways to deepen economic cooperation between Korea and the ASEAN region, Yeo's office said. At the meeting, Yeo and the ASEAN Committee in Seoul discussed various measures aimed at expanding bilateral cooperation between the two economies, including trade expansion, improvement of the Korea-ASEAN free trade agreement (FTA) and supply chain collaboration, according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Resources. The talks come amid heightened global trade and geopolitical uncertainties. The ASEAN committee comprised of ambassadors from 11 ASEAN member states, including Cambodia, Indonesia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. Regarding the recent push to upgrade the bilateral FTA between Korea and the ASEAN, Yeo said Seoul aims to make tangible progress in negotiations to expand the trade agreement by 2027, the ministry said. The trade agreement should be upgraded to add digital regulations and reflect recent changes in the global trade environment, Yeo added. Ac