South Korean, Malaysian FMs meet on prospect of FTA

South Korea's Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade Ban ki-moon held talks with Malaysian Foreign Minister Syed Hamid Albar on Tuesday to exchange views over the agenda of the East Asia Summit and the prospects for a free trade agreement (FTA) between South Korea and the ASEAN.

The two ministers met in South Korea's southeastern port city of Busan on the sidelines of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (APEC) forum.

Malaysia is to host the East Asia Summit next month, a meeting of the leaders of the 10-member Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) and South Korea, China and Japan.

Ban expressed his satisfaction with the improving relations between his country and Southeast Asia, saying "We are looking forward to participating in the inauguration of the East Asian Summit in December."

For his part, Syed Hamid Albar said his country hopes to make the summit a regular event to seek strategies for regional development.

Ban expressed South Korea's intention to have a basic free trade agreement signed with the ASEAN in Malaysia next month.

Source: Xinhua