Korea and Pakistan will begin the first round of negotiations on a bilateral Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) on Monday. Seoul's trade ministry said the virtual talks aim to boost trade and investment. Kim Jang-hee, director general for Trade Agreement Negotiations, and his Pakistani counterpart Nasir Hamid will hold four days of discussions.
In the first round of talks, the two sides plan to review their respective positions and areas of interest in four sectors—economic cooperation, investment, intellectual property and trade remedies—and lay the groundwork for future negotiations, the government said.
Pakistan, with a population of around 240 million, is the world's fifth-most populous country and is considered a strategic hub linking the Middle East, Central Asia and South Asia. Bilateral trade between Korea and Pakistan stood at about $1.57 billion last year. The ministry said that trade between the two countries remains relatively limited, underscoring the need to expand commercial ties and promote investment through the CEPA.
"The launch of the first round of formal negotiations puts the Korea-Pakistan CEPA on a full-fledged track," Kim said. "We will actively engage in talks so that the agreement can serve as a practical platform to expand bilateral trade and investment and support Korean companies entering the Southwest Asian market."
