ICCK

SEOUL, Dec. 10 (Yonhap) -- South Korea and India will hold negotiations to upgrade their existing bilateral trade pact to lower barriers between the two nations, the government here said Monday.

The two nations implemented the Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA) in January 2010 and have held six rounds of talks to push for further market liberalization.

The seventh round of CEPA talks will be held in Seoul on Tuesday and Wednesday to discuss ways to further open up the goods and services market and ease country of origin rules, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy said.

In July, trade ministers of the two nations agreed to speed up the negotiations to expand trade and investment opportunities between the two nations.

In the goods sector, India agreed to open up to petrochemical and coffee products, and South Korea promised market access for agriculture and fishery products, mangoes and castor oil in the upcoming negotiations.

They also agreed to relax the requirements for sports and cultural visas and ease the rules of origin for some products. 

Seoul has explored ways to expand trade relations with India and Southeast Asian nations under President Moon Jae-in's "New Southern Policy," which is aimed at diversifying its export market beyond China and the U.S.

Two-way trade reached US$15.8 billion in 2016, with India becoming South Korea's sixth-largest export destination, according to government data.

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