S. Korea, Gulf states to hold free trade talks next month

SEOUL, Feb. 11 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and six Gulf states plan to hold their
second round of free trade negotiations early next month, trade officials here
said Wednesday.
In a July meeting last year, the two sides agreed to strike a free trade pact by
the end of the year. The second round of negotiations will be held in Riyadh, the
capital city of Saudi Arabia, officials said.
The free trade negotiations with Saudi Arabia and five other oil-producing
nations is the latest in a series of moves by South Korea to forge free trade
deals with major economic blocs.
The six nations are the members of Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC), comprising
Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, Qatar, Oman and Kuwait. The GCC,
established in 1981, is the world's 18th-largest economic entity, and its member
states hold around 40 percent of the world's oil reserves.
South Korea bought US$53.5 billion worth of energy resources, mostly oil, from
the six nations in 2007, accounting for around 72 percent of its total energy
imports.
Conversely, South Korean builders such as Hyundai Engineering & Construction Co.
received construction orders worth $14.4 billion, equivalent to 36 percent of
their total, in 2007 from those countries, according to the ministry.
The GCC is South Korea's fifth-largest trading partner, with two-way trade
reaching $66.1 billion in 2007. In the same year, South Korea exported $10.9
billion worth of goods to the six nations, and imported goods worth $55.1 billion
from them, resulting in a trade deficit of $44.2 billion.
South Korea currently has free trade pacts with Chile, Singapore and the European
Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Switzerland, Norway, Ireland and
Liechtenstein.
Seoul is awaiting the ratification of a free trade pact with the United States
that was signed in 2007.
South Korea also has a free trade agreement with the Association of Southeast
Asian Nations that covers manufactured goods and agricultural products. The
country is also negotiating with the European Union, Canada and Mexico for free
trade pacts.
sam@yna.co.kr
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