Invest KOREA

Australia's top envoy to Seoul expressed hope Wednesday that the two countries will conclude a bilateral free trade agreement (FTA) this year on their 50th anniversary since forging diplomatic ties.

The two sides launched FTA negotiations in March 2009 and have since held five rounds of talks, focusing on agriculture, services, and autos, among other sectors.

"Hopefully, we will have a concluded and operational FTA during the course of this year," Ambassador Sam Gerovich told a press meeting in Seoul one week ahead of the official launch of Australia-Korea Year of Friendship activities.

South Korea is the third-largest merchandise exports market for Australia as well as the third-largest source of international students in the country, Gerovich said.

Australian exports of mainly crude oil, coal, metals and meat were valued at US$14.8 billion in 2009, according to South Korean government data. South Korea, in turn, exported 5.2 billion worth of goods to Australia, including autos, mobile communication devices and paper products.

The ambassador also stressed his country's resolve to maintain dominance in South Korea's market for imported beef, 52 percent of which currently comes from Australia.

"We're very keen to ensure that any FTA that we conclude is a high quality FTA that provides the same provisions at least that are provided in the FTA with the United States because ... the Korean beef market is very important to Australia," he said, adding that only the U.S. and Japan import larger volumes.

South Korea also buys large amounts of beef from the U.S., and disagreements over its standards were a major sticking point in Korea-U.S. FTA negotiations. The deal has yet to be ratified by the two countries' legislatures.

Aside from trade, South Korea and Australia will be able to explore various other areas of cooperation through numerous cultural and academic programs planned for this year, the envoy said. These will include performances in contemporary dance, theater and classical music, as well as visits by two of Australia's Nobel laureates, Peter Doherty and Barry Marshall. The two scientists won the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine in 1996 and 2005, respectively, and are expected to give public lectures here later this year.

Source: Yonhap News (Jan. 19, 2011)