Seoul, Jan 17. (Yonhap) — Commerce Minister Yoo Han Koo on Monday met with his Canadian counterpart Marie Ng via video conference to discuss ways to boost bilateral cooperation, including South Korea’s plan to join forces. Join the Comprehensive and Advanced Trans-Pacific Partnership (CPTPP).
Minister Yu noted that South Korea is looking forward to applying for CPTPP membership around March or April next year and wants to work closely with South Korea’s pro-application member states such as Canada.
Yu also noted that joining South Korea, a trade, industrial and technology powerhouse in the Asia-Pacific region, would strengthen supply networks.
CPTPP is the renegotiated version of the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP). It was launched in December 2018 by 11 countries, including Japan, Australia, Canada, New Zealand, and Mexico.
According to a report by the Korea Institute of Industrial Economics and Trade (KIET), the trade volume of 11 countries participating in the CPTPP reached $5.7 trillion in 2019, accounting for 15.2% of global trade.
As for the Canadian minister, she pledged her government’s active support for South Korea’s accession to the CPTPP. The two sides agreed to cooperate closely in the areas of digital commerce and regulations in the era of the digital economy.
The two parties also agreed to enhance bilateral cooperation in investments and exchange of raw materials and basic minerals. During this meeting, the organization of the fourth joint meeting under the framework of the Free Trade Agreement between South Korea and Canada later this year was discussed, as well as public health, vaccines and climate change.
