ASEAN, RoK Seek to Raise Relations to Strategic Partnership
Officials of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and the Republic of Korea (RoK) have agreed to propose the two sides’ leaders to elevate the relations to a strategic partnership.
They reached the consensus at the 14th ASEAN-RoK dialogue held in Seoul.
ASEAN and Korean leaders are expected to release a statement on the strategic partnership while gathering at the 13th Summit in Hanoi in October.
Vietnam’s capital city will also host an ASEAN-RoK ministerial meeting in July in preparation for the upcoming summit.
The ASEAN-Korea Free Trade Agreement (AKFTA) effective June 2007 has helped expand trade between ASEAN and South Korea to $90.2 billion in 2008, up 11 folds over the past two decades.
The bilateral trade is expected to surge to $150 billion by 2015. (Capital Security)
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