Georgia, South Korea to launch talks for economic partnership deal

Georgia and South Korea will launch negotiations for signing a partnership agreement deepening trade and economic ties between the countries this year, the Ministry of Economy of Georgia announced on Tuesday.

Deputy Economy Minister Genadi Arveladze, who is on a working visit to Korea, met the country’s Acting Director of the Free Trade Policy Department of the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy to discuss the conditions of the deal.

The agreement will cover liberalisation of trade in both goods and services, sanitary and phytosanitary measures, technical barriers to trade, intellectual property rights, government procurement and more.

The state body said the document also implied deepening economic cooperation in energy, transport, information technology, tourism, environmental protection and other sectors. 

A high-level delegation from Korea will visit Georgia in the second half of this year in order to make a final agreement and sign a document on the terms of negotiations, the Ministry also noted.