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

SEOUL, March 6 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and six Gulf states plan to hold their
second round of free trade negotiations next week, the trade ministry said
Friday.
During a two-day meeting that runs from Monday in Riyadh, the capital city of
Saudi Arabia, negotiators from both sides will hold a series of meetings on
tariff concessions and other issues, according to the ministry.
In a July meeting held last year, the two sides agreed to strike a free trade
pact by the end of 2009.
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
was established in 1981, and its member states hold around 40 percent of the
world's oil reserves.
South Korea bought US$63.1 billion worth of energy resources, mostly oil, from
the six nations last year, accounting for around 74 percent of its total energy
imports.
The GCC was South Korea's second-largest trading partner after China in 2008,
with two-way trade reaching $101 billion.
South Korea currently has free trade pacts with Chile, Singapore and the European
Free Trade Association (EFTA), comprising Switzerland, Norway, Ireland and
Liechtenstein.
A free trade pact between Korea and the United States was signed in 2007 but
still awaits ratification in the legislatures of both countries.
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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