Foreign Minister Koichiro Gemba has called for the resumption of negotiations with South Korea on concluding an economic partnership agreement governing free trade and investment.
Gemba made the appeal in a meeting with visiting South Korean Trade Minister Kim Jong Hoon on Saturday.
Gemba pointed to the popularity of South Korean-made cell phones among Japanese consumers and an increasing number of business tie-ups between Japanese and South Korean companies overseas.
Gemba said the government is committed to helping companies of the 2 countries to expand their cooperation.
On the EPA talks that have been suspended since 2004, Gemba said the agreement is indispensable for the 2 countries to further promote the bilateral economic relationship and form a single economic zone in the future.
Gemba stressed the need to facilitate working-level talks for the resumption of EPA negotiations.
Kim agreed with the Japanese minister, saying that economic cooperation between the 2 countries has been developing steadily, and that the trend should be sustained.
Gemba also met Australia's trade minister Craig Emerson on Saturday. The 2 ministers agreed that the 2 countries will make efforts to resume talks on concluding an economic partnership agreement at an early date.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
0 comments:
Post a Comment