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Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper and visiting South Korean President Park Geun-hye on Monday signed a free trade deal and launched a strategic partnership between the two countries, the Office of the Canadian Prime Minister said.
During their meeting, Harper and Park underlined the robust bilateral relationship and agreed that sustaining the prosperity, security and quality of life of citizens in each of their countries requires a strong economy.
Under the free trade agreement, both countries will remove tariffs on virtually all of the bilaterally traded goods within a decade since it enters into force, including trade in goods and services, investment, government procurement and intellectual property, as well as labor and environment cooperation.
It is estimated that the deal will boost the Canada's economic output by 1.7 billion U.S. dollars and increase Canadian merchandise exports to South Korea by 32 percent.
Total merchandise trade between the two countries reached approximately 10.8 billion dollars in 2013.
The two leaders reaffirmed their mutual commitment to pushing the agreement taking effect as quickly as possible.
Meanwhile, they also signed a strategic partnership agreement that is expected to lay out a strategic direction for stronger relations in key areas of common interest, including energy and natural resources, science, technology and innovation, and Arctic research and development.
Harper expressed his support for Park's initiative for peaceful unification on the Korean Peninsula, which would contribute to promoting regional and international peace and prosperity.
They also agreed to further strengthen existing cooperation through multilateral organizations such as the United Nations, APEC and the G20.
