Korea and Pakistan Begin First Official CEPA Talks... Full-Scale Push Into Southwest Asian Market

Negotiations Enter Full Swing Amid Export Market Diversification
Discussions Focus on Four Key Areas: Economic Cooperation, Investment, and More

Yeohangu, Director-General for Trade Negotiations at the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (top right), held a virtual meeting on the 30th of last month at the Korea Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Jung-gu, Seoul, with Jam Kamal Kahn, Pakistan's Minister of Commerce, and other Pakistani officials. Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy.

As the global trade order undergoes rapid restructuring, the government has officially begun expanding comprehensive economic cooperation with Pakistan, a key potential market in Southwest Asia.

The Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy announced that it will hold the first official round of negotiations for the Korea-Pakistan Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) via video conference over four days, from May 4 to May 7.

CEPA is a type of trade agreement that strengthens economic cooperation while flexibly adjusting the level of market opening, compared to conventional Free Trade Agreements (FTAs). Its key feature is that it goes beyond simple tariff reductions to encompass areas such as investment, intellectual property rights, and other cooperation agendas.

This round of negotiations will be led by Kim Janghee, Acting Director for Trade Agreement Negotiations on the Korean side, and Nasir Hamid, Additional Secretary for Trade Diplomacy at Pakistan’s Ministry of Commerce, as chief delegates. Around 50 negotiators from both countries are participating.

With a population of approximately 240 million and a young labor force, Pakistan is an emerging market promoting the expansion of its manufacturing base and infrastructure development. However, the scale of bilateral trade remains limited compared to its potential, consistently raising the need to establish an institutional framework.

Since the two countries declared the launch of CEPA negotiations in January last year, they have worked on finalizing negotiation rules and drafting the agreement text. From April 20 to April 23, prior negotiations took place focusing on goods, rules of origin, and environmental issues, laying the groundwork for the talks.

In particular, following the meeting between Yeo Hangoo, Director General of Trade Negotiations, and Jam Kamal Khan, Pakistan’s Minister of Commerce, on April 30, a consensus was reached on accelerating the negotiations, making this first official round the starting point of substantive talks.

The government plans to identify both sides’ interests and positions and establish the framework for future negotiations, focusing on four key areas: economic cooperation, investment, intellectual property rights, and trade remedies.

Kim Janghee, Acting Director for Trade Agreement Negotiations, stated, “With this first official round, Korea-Pakistan CEPA negotiations have entered a full-fledged phase. We will actively engage in the talks to ensure that this becomes a practical platform for expanding trade and investment between the two countries, as well as supporting South Asia market entry for Korean businesses.”

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.