Korea and Indonesia will hold the first round of feasibility study talks on a bilateral free trade deal this week, the Trade Ministry in Seoul said Wednesday.

In 2007, a free trade agreement between South Korea and the Association of Southeast Asian Nations, which includes Indonesia, went into effect. But Seoul has been seeking to forge higher-level separate free trade deals with Indonesia, Malaysia and other Asian countries.

The meeting for the so-called comprehensive economic partnership agreement, similar to a free trade deal, will be held in Jakarta on Thursday, with both sides seeking to launch free trade negotiations in November, the ministry said.

Bilateral trade reached $22.9 billion last year with Korea’s exports to Indonesia amounting to $8.9 billion, according to the ministry.

Korea, whose economy heavily depends on trade, has been aggressive in forging trade pacts with other nations, highlighted by the sealing of a free trade accord with the European Union in October last year. 

(Yonhap News)