S. Korea seeks Vietnam’s support for envisioned CPTPP membership

SEOUL– South Korea on Wednesday asked for Vietnam’s support for its push to join a mega free trade deal in the Asia-Pacific region, Seoul’s trade ministry said.

South Korea’s Trade Minister Yeo Han-koo made the request during telephone talks with Vietnam’s deputy trade minister Tran Quoc Khanh, as Seoul is working to apply for a membership of the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP), according to the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

The CPTPP involves 11 nations, including Vietnam, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia and New Zealand, which had accounted for around 15 percent of the world’s total trade volume of US$5.2 trillion as of 2020.

The two sides also discussed the Indo-Pacific Economic Framework (IPEF), which the United States has sought to launch in a move to better engage with Asia on trade amid an intensifying Sino-U.S. rivalry.

“South Korea and Vietnam share the notion that it is crucial for the envisioned framework to be open, transparent and inclusive, and to present standards and cooperation that many nations in the region can accept,” the ministry said in a release.

Yeo also proposed enhanced bilateral cooperation on supply chains and climate change issues to bring their economic ties a notch higher, according to the ministry.

Bilateral trade between the two countries reached an all-time high of $80.7 billion last year, up from $69.1 billion the previous year, data showed.

Source: Yonhap News Agency

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