Singapore and the EU will start talks next week on a free-trade agreement seen as an “important stepping stone” in the EU’s engagement with Southeast Asia, officials said yesterday.
EU Trade Commissioner Karel De Gucht and Singapore Trade Minister Lim Hng Kiang (林勳強) made the announcement during a meeting in the city-state, Singapore’s trade ministry said in a statement.
The first round of negotiations will be held from Monday to Friday in Singapore, the ministry said.
“The proposed free-trade agreement will strengthen economic ties between Singapore and the EU, provide new opportunities for traders and consumers alike and contribute to generating growth in our economies,” De Gucht said. “For Europe, it will also mark an important stepping stone in the EU’s engagement with the ASEAN region.”
The start of negotiations with Singapore follows an announcement on Tuesday that the EU would begin free-trade talks with Vietnam.
The EU had earlier abandoned its strategy of negotiating a free trade pact with ASEAN as a whole, publicly citing different levels of economic development within the 10-member bloc.
Instead, the EU decided it will secure free-trade agreements with individual ASEAN states.
Diplomats have said however that the change in the EU strategy is also due to disagreements over alleged human rights violations in military-ruled Myanmar.
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