Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy

Minister meets India’s External Affairs Minister

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn met with India’s External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on March 5 at Lotte Hotel Seoul to discuss measures for expanding comprehensive economic cooperation between the two countries. date2024-03-06

Korea and India to expand comprehensive economic cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Minister Dukgeun Ahn met with India's External Affairs Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar on March 5 at Lotte Hotel Seoul to discuss measures for expanding comprehensive economic cooperation between the two countries, including collaboration in trade, investment, technology exchange, supply chain, energy and new industries.   The two ministers exchanged views in-depth on ways for the two countries to jointly engage in the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEC) and other regional networks, which can be seen as part of the Trade, Industry and Energy Ministry (MOTIE)'s strategy announced last month on pan-ministerial export expansion for 2024 by building multilevel networks with countries in the Global South on a wide regional basis.   In this respect, Minister Ahn stated that the two countries need a strategic dialogue channel for discussing new industries and other economic cooperative issues on a regular basis, and that they swiftly launch the Korea-India Industrial Cooperation Committee as proposed by Korea to India’s Ministry of Commerce and Industry as a follow-up to last year's bilateral summit so as to deepen forward-looking economic cooperative ties.   MOTIE plans to make progress on negotiations for upgrading the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) to gain tangible outcomes within this year, while also continuing to nurture an environment for Korean companies' stable local investment through local institutions like “Korea Plus in India”. date2024-03-06

Deputy Trade Minister chairs 6th Korea-Middle East Economic Cooperation Public-Private Committee Working Group

Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae chaired the sixth Korea-Middle East Economic Cooperation Public-Private Joint Committee Support Working Group meeting on February 14 at K-SURE in Seoul to assess the economic diplomacy outcomes and to support Korean companies’ advances in the Middle Eastern market. date2024-02-15

Deputy Trade Minister attends Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Public-Private Support Group launching ceremony

Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae attended the launching ceremony of the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Public-Private Support Group on February 6 in Seoul for ground-breaking development of bilateral economic relations on the occasion of the Korea-Africa Summit 2024 scheduled for this June.   Deputy Minister Yang gave an opening message and led discussions on the summit preparation and relevant institutions’ plans for collaboration with African nations.   The meeting was attended by representatives of economic, trade and investment institutions, including the Korea International Trade Association (KITA), Korea Trade-Investment Promotion Agency (KOTRA), Federation of Korean Industries (FKI) and K-SURE. date2024-02-06

Korea launches public-private support group for upcoming first summit with Africa

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on February 6 the launching of the Korea-Africa Economic Cooperation Public-Private Support Group (“Support Group”) by the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry (KCCI) on the occasion of the Korea-Africa Summit 2024 scheduled this June, with aim to achieve ground-breaking development in bilateral economic relations.   Composed of representatives from more than 30 relevant organizations ranging from economic groups, trade and investment assisting institutions and major public companies and institutes of trade, industry and resources sectors, the Support Group will serve as a joint public-private platform for gaining outcomes between Korean and African firms and reviewing the major cooperation agendas with 54 African nations over the four months remaining until the June summit.   Rich in critical minerals, Africa is a vast market of 1.4 billion with a GDP of over USD 3.4 trillion. Noting that cooperative ties between Korea and Africa have potentially far more to offer, MOTIE has been making effort since last year to establish a solid basis for trade cooperation like the Economic Partnership Agreement (EPA) and the Trade and Investment Promotion Framework (TIPF), building networks between trade and investment promotion institutes and furthering collaboration across the critical minerals supply chain. MOTIE plans to jump-start the sprint towards this year’s $700 billion export target with the upcoming Korea-Africa summit in view of these prospects.   Chair of the first Support Group meeting, Deputy Minister for Trade Yang Byeong-nae asked that members strive to obtain far-reaching outcomes in developing the Korea-Africa economic cooperation through the first bilateral summit. date2024-02-06

Korea and India hold 10th official negotiating round for upgrading bilateral CEPA

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on January 30 that the 10th official negotiating round for upgrading the Korea-India Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) is to be held through January 30-31 in New Delhi, India. Numbering 60 persons in total, the Korean and Indian delegations are led by Director General for FTA Policy Ahn Chang-yong and the Indian Commerce Department’s Additional Secretary Anant Swarup, respectively. The first official round to date2024-01-30

Korea and China to launch joint research project for improving bilateral FTA implementation

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) announced on January 24 that research institutes of Korea and China are to launch a joint research project for improving the implementation of the Korea-China Free Trade Agreement (FTA). During the fifth Korea-China FTA Joint Committee meeting held on December 4 in 2023 in Beijing, the two countries’ chief delegates agreed to launch a joint research program for improving the implementation of the bilateral FTA in 2025, the year marking th date2024-01-24

Korea and UK hold first official negotiating round for upgrading bilateral FTA

Trade Minister Inkyo Cheong attended the first official negotiating round for the upgrade of the Korea-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) on January 23 at Lotte Hotel Seoul. The trade minister stated that “the global trade order is changing more rapidly than ever, with the worldwide rise of protectionism and swift realignment of the global supply chain,” and asked both delegations to “jointly respond to internal and external uncertainties, while making sure to place the utmost prio date2024-01-23

Korea and UK hold first official negotiating round for upgrading bilateral FTA

Director General for FTA Policy Ahn Chang-yong at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) is heading the Korean delegation in the first round of official negotiations on upgrading the Korea-UK Free Trade Agreement (FTA) to be held through January 23-25 in Seoul. The UK delegation is led by Adam Fenn, Chief Negotiator at the UK's Department for Business and Trade. The existing Korea-UK FTA is the first FTA sealed with Asia by the UK in proceeding with Brexit and is assessed to have dr date2024-01-23

Korea and Indonesia hold high-level dialogue on economic cooperation

Trade, Industry and Energy Deputy Trade Minister Yang Byeong-nae met Septian Hario Seto, the Deputy Minister for Indonesia’s Coordinating Ministry for Maritime and Investment Affairs, on January 17 at Signiel Seoul to discuss measures to strengthen economic cooperation between Korea and Indonesia. date2024-01-19